US Authorities Arrest Former Celsius CEO

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Anonymous Bloomberg sources reported yesterday that US law enforcement officers had apprehended Alex Mashinsky, the former CEO of the Celsius crypto lending platform.

Court documents, seen by insiders, indicated that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had filed a lawsuit against Celsius and its ex-head, which had subsequently been closed.

According to the SEC, Mashinsky and Celsius misled investors by conducting fraudulent and unregistered sales of “cryptocurrency securities.”

Additionally, the organization was accused of manipulating the price of its native CEL token, deceiving investors about its financial stability, and running financial activities without a license.

The New York Attorney General’s Office opined that Mashinsky had defrauded investors for billions of dollars.

Analysts on Lookonchain found that in February 2021, Mashinsky cashed out nearly all of his CEL holdings for $48,000 through Coinbase.