FILE PHOTO: Alex Mashinsky, founder and former CEO of bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network, exits the Manhattan federal court in New York City, U.S., July 25, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Alex Mashinsky, founder and former CEO of cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to two counts of fraud.
Mashinsky, 59, was indicted on July 13, 2023, on seven counts of fraud, conspiracy and market manipulation charges. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan said he misled customers of Celsius to persuade them to invest, and artificially inflated the value of his company's proprietary crypto token. He pleaded not guilty that day.
