US Attorney’s Office announces criminal fraud charges against Alex Mashinsky
The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and Federal Bureau of Investigation have announced fraud charges against the former CEO of bankrupt crypto lender Celsius, Alex Mashinsky.
In a July 13 announcement, the U.S. Justice Department said it had charged Mashinsky with securities fraud, commodities fraud and wire fraud related to allegedly defrauding customers and misleading them about Celsius’ “success, profitability, and the nature of the investments” the platform made with user funds. However, authorities said they had reached a “non-prosecution agreement” with Celsius, which “agreed to accept responsibility for its role in the fraudulent schemes.”
“If you rip off ordinary investors to line your own pockets, we will hold you accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. “Whether it’s old-school fraud or some new-school crypto scheme, it doesn’t matter one bit. It’s all fraud to us. And we’ll be here to catch it.”
Former Celsius chief revenue officer Roni Cohen-Pavon and Mashinsky will also face charges of conspiracy, securities fraud, market manipulation and wire fraud related to manipulating the price of the Celsius (CEL) token.
Authorities reportedly arrested Mashinsky, a New York resident, on July 13 as part of the indictment, which includes seven criminal counts. Cohen-Pavon, a resident of Israel, faces four counts.
Related: Fahrenheit wins bid to acquire assets of crypto lender Celsius
The charges came amid a slew of legal actions against Celsius and Mashinsky following the collapse of the platform and financial difficulties in 2022. Celsius suspended withdrawals on its platform, and many U.S. state securities regulators had also been investigating the firm.
The New York Attorney General’s office filed a suit against Mashinsky on Jan. 5, alleging that the former CEO misled Celsius investors, resulting in billions of dollars in losses. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission followed with its own lawsuit on July 13, citing similar allegations against Celsius and Mashinsky but also charging the firm with violations of securities laws. In addition, the Federal Trade Commission issued a $4.7-billion fine against Celsius.
Magazine: Tiffany Fong flames Celsius, FTX and NY Post: Hall of Flame
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Politics
Starmer was aware of the risks of appointing the ‘Prince of Darkness’ as his man in Washington – to an extent
It was a prescient and – as it turned out – incredibly optimistic sign off from Peter Mandelson after eight years as Chancellor of Manchester Metropolitan University.
“I hope I survive in my next job for at least half that period”, the Financial Times reported him as saying – with a smile.
As something of a serial sackee from government posts, we know Sir Keir Starmer was, to an extent, aware of the risks of appointing the ‘Prince of Darkness’ as his man in Washington.
But in his first interview since he gave the ambassador his marching orders, the prime minister said if he had “known then what I know now” then he would not have given him the job.
For many Labour MPs, this will do little to answer questions about the slips in political judgement that led Downing Street down this disastrous alleyway.
Like the rest of the world, Sir Keir Starmer did know of Lord Mandelson’s friendship with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein when he sent him to Washington.
The business secretary spelt out the reasoning for that over the weekend saying that the government judged it “worth the risk”.
Keir Starmer welcomes Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte to Downing Street.
Pic: PA
This is somewhat problematic.
As you now have a government which – after being elected on the promise to restore high standards – appears to be admitting that previous indiscretions can be overlooked if the cause is important enough.
Package that up with other scandals that have resulted in departures – Louise Haigh, Tulip Siddiq, Angela Rayner – and you start to get a stink that becomes hard to shift.
But more than that, the events of the last week again demonstrate an apparent lack of ability in government to see round corners and deal with crises before they start knocking lumps out of the Prime Minister.
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‘Had I known then, what I know now, I’d have never appointed him’ Starmer said.
Remember, for many the cardinal sin here was not necessarily the original appointment of Mandelson (while eyebrows were raised at the time, there was nowhere near the scale of outrage we’ve had in the last week with many career diplomats even agreeing the with logic of the choice) but the fact that Sir Keir walked into PMQs and gave the ambassador his full throated backing when it was becoming clear to many around Westminster that he simply wouldn’t be able to stay in post.
The explanation from Downing Street is essentially that a process was playing out, and you shouldn’t sack an ambassador based on a media enquiry alone.
But good process doesn’t always align with good politics.
Something this barrister-turned-politician may now be finding out the hard way.
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