Celsius Founder Alex Mashinsky Pleads Guilty to Fraud, Faces 30-Year Sentence

Alexander Mashinsky, founder and former CEO of Celsius Network, pled guilty to commodities and securities fraud, admitting to misleading customers about the company's profitability and manipulating the price of Celsius's proprietary token, CEL. Mashinsky's schemes involved using customer funds for risky investments and artificially inflating CEL's price, allowing him to profit while customers suffered losses when Celsius went bankrupt. He agreed to forfeit over $48 million and faces a potential 30-year prison sentence.