As a seasoned crypto investor who has navigated numerous market fluctuations and witnessed the rise and fall of various projects, I find myself following the case of Alex Mashinsky with great interest. Having personally invested in Celsius during its early stages and seeing it grow into a significant player in the crypto space before its unfortunate downfall, I feel a certain connection to this story.
For the initial time in several months, Alex Mashinsky, the previous head of cryptocurrency platform Celsius, is set to make an appearance in a New York courtroom for oral discussions concerning his request to dismiss the accusations against him.
On October 23rd, Judge John Koeltl of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York called for a court appearance on November 13th involving Alexander Mashinsky and prosecutors. This is to ensure that Mashinsky’s testimony is preserved and to discuss his request to dismiss specific charges in the indictment. Back in January, Mashinsky’s legal team submitted motions seeking to drop charges related to commodities fraud and market manipulation allegations.
In July 2023, Mashinsky was apprehended and accused of seven felony charges. The district attorneys claimed that Mashinsky, along with his former executive Roni Cohen-Pavon, had illegally influenced the price of CEL, the platform’s token. It was also alleged that Mashinsky deceived users about the true nature of their investments.
Court documents indicate that Mashinsky has been absent from court personally since February. Besides the Nov. 13 hearing, Judge Koeltl arranged for a pre-trial meeting on Jan. 16. The planned jury trial for the ex-CEO of Celsius is set to commence on Jan. 28.
As a researcher, I’ve been primarily confined to travel between New York and Israel due to recent events, but it appears that Cohen-Pavon was granted permission to attend the Token2049 conference held in Singapore in September.
At first, he denied guilt for all the accusations, but subsequently changed his plea to admit guilt. Judge Koeltl has set the sentencing date for the ex-Celsius executive on December 11th.
Preserving testimony from witnesses
Alexander Mashinsky, former CEO of Celsius (up till September 2022), is said to have made approximately $42 million in earnings from the sale of CEL tokens.
As an analyst, I can report that I have maintained my innocence against all accusations levied against me, encompassing securities fraud, commodities fraud, wire fraud, collusion to control the price of CEL, a deceptive plan to influence the price of CEL, manipulation of the CEL market, and wire fraud tied to the manipulation of the CEL token.
It seems that the November 13th court hearing could be connected to a filing made by the ex-CEO of Celsius in September. In this filing, he aimed to secure the testimonies of six crucial witnesses living abroad, such as Cohen-Pavon.
According to Mashinsky’s legal team, five out of six potential witnesses were accused of disregarding his specific directives to regularly sell CEL tokens in the market to generate income. Instead, these witnesses allegedly bought more CEL tokens than necessary on the FTX exchange throughout 2021.
In July 2022, Celsius sought bankruptcy protection in the United States, however, it started repaying its creditors from 2024 onwards. Similarly, Mashinsky is currently facing civil litigation with both the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
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2024-10-24 01:40