Shalini Nagarajan

Hours after being arrested on Thursday, Celsius’ founder and former CEO Alex Mashinsky pleaded not guilty to charges of misleading customers and inflating the CEL token.&nbsp;



The CFTC, FTC and SEC <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/cftc-ftc-sue-celsius">filed lawsuits</a> against Celsius and Mashinsky on the same day, while the Department of Justice <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/us-sues-alex-mashinsky">charged</a> him with seven counts including securities and wire fraud.



US Magistrate Judge Ona Wang <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/us-sec-sues-celsius-network-its-founder-2023-07-13/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">approved his release</a> on a $40 million bond, according to Reuters.



The personal recognizance bond is secured by his Manhattan residence and the signatures of his wife and a second person, according to a <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.601957/gov.uscourts.nysd.601957.5.0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">court document</a> filed Thursday. His travel is limited to the Eastern and Southern District of New York.



During his arraignment at Manhattan federal court, Mashinsky <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/international-business/article-us-sec-sues-bankrupt-crypto-lender-celsius-network-and-its-founder/?utm_medium=Referrer:+Social+Network+/+Media&amp;utm_campaign=Shared+Web+Article+Links" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reportedly</a> appeared without handcuffs, wearing a gray polo shirt and jeans.&nbsp;



Blockworks has reached out to Mashinsky&#8217;s attorneys Benjamin Alee and Jonathan Ohring for comment.



Ohring told Blockworks that Mashinsky “vehemently denies the allegations brought yesterday. He looks forward to vigorously defending himself in court against these baseless charges.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Indictment reveals Mashinsky&#8217;s promotional tactics for Celsius&nbsp;</h2>



Founded in 2017, Celsius filed for bankruptcy in July 2022 as customers hurried to withdraw funds amidst falling crypto prices. However, many customers are still unable to access their deposits.&nbsp;



Prosecutors claim that between 2018 and 2022, Mashinsky deceived investors about core aspects of Celsius’ business.



The SEC accuses Mashinsky and Celsius of promoting the platform as safe, akin to a modern-day bank, while engaging in risky strategies to deliver high returns of up to 17% through the Earn Interest Program.



Despite significant losses and withdrawal pressures, regulators claim that Mashinsky and Celsius falsely maintained the platform&#8217;s financial security and ability to meet withdrawal demands.&nbsp;



The indictment reveals Mashinsky&#8217;s promotion of Celsius through media interviews, Twitter and regular &#8220;Ask Mashinsky Anything&#8221; sessions on the website and YouTube.



In addition to the recent charges, New York Attorney General Letitia James <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/celsius-founder-defrauded-thousands-nyag">previously sued Mashinsky</a> in state court, accusing him of misleading thousands of investors, including 26,000 New Yorkers.



Updated July 14, 2023 at 7:42 am ET: Added comment from Mashinsky&#8217;s attorney.



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Celsius founder Alex Mashinsky freed on bail, pleads not guilty

Ben Strack

<div id="highlights-block_62c5befe2fdd3" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>The two executives join Celsius co-founders Alex Mashinsky and Shlomi Daniel Leon as directors</li>
 <li>Carr is the CEO of a fiduciary services firm that leads restructurings and litigations</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Crypto lender Celsius Network has reorganized its board of directors as it works to stabilize its liquidity and operations amid the ongoing crypto bear market.



Finance executives David Barse and Alan Jeffrey Carr were appointed as directors on June 28 and June 29, respectively, according to <a href="https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/11198050/filing-history" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a Wednesday filing</a>.&nbsp;



Barse is the founder and CEO of index company XOUT Capital and founder of private family office DMB Holdings. Carr is the CEO of <a href="https://www.drivetrainllc.com/what-we-do" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Drivetrain</a>, a fiduciary services firm that leads complex restructurings and litigations and manages portfolios in distressed investments.



The executives are now directors alongside Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky and Shlomi Daniel Leon, Celsius’s co-founder and chief strategy officer.



Barse and Carr did not immediately respond to requests for comment.&nbsp;



The Wednesday filing also revealed that Celsius Network terminated Gilbert Nathan, John Stephen Dubel and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurencetosi/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Laurence Anthony Tosi</a> as directors at the end of last month.



Dubel’s termination follows his appointment just one week earlier, the filing indicates. Dubel is the founder of Dubel &amp; Associates, a provider of restructuring services to underperforming companies. He was <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sunedison-appoints-john-s-dubel-chief-executive-officer-300288917.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">named the chief restructuring officer</a> of SunEdison in 2016.



Tosi is the founder of growth equity firm WestCap. He was previously the chief financial officer of Airbnb and The Blackstone Group, as well as the chief operating officer and a managing partner at Merrill Lynch.



It appears that <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/gil-nathan-11508a2/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nathan</a> is a managing member of consulting and advisory firm Jackson Square Advisors.&nbsp;



Celsius did not immediately return Blockworks’ request for comment.&nbsp;



The director changes come after Celsius <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/celsius-lending-platform-suspends-withdrawals-and-transfers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">paused</a> withdrawals and transfers on its platform on June 12. The platform’s native token, CEL, had sunk more than 60% — from $2 to $0.77 — throughout May, as markets reeled from the collapse of algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD (UST).



CEL reached a two-year low of $0.28 after it suspended withdrawals but has since rebounded almost 200% to $0.836 as of 1:00 pm ET.



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&nbsp;In a <a href="https://blog.celsius.network/across-celsius-today-c71b29513a9b" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">blog post</a> on June 30, the firm said it was working to stabilize liquidity and operations.



“We continue to take important steps to preserve and protect assets and explore options available to us,” the company wrote in the post. “These options include pursuing strategic transactions as well as a restructuring of our liabilities, among other avenues.”



Celsius has also <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/celsius-lays-off-150-employees-as-withdrawal-freeze-drags-report/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">let go</a> of 150 employees, news outlet <a href="https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/syvuxha99" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Calcalist</a> reported on Sunday.&nbsp;



The company is not the only firm seeking outside assistance to improve its situation.&nbsp;



Crypto lender Babel Finance <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/troubled-lender-babel-finance-reportedly-hires-us-investment-bank-houlihan-lokey/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">was reportedly set to hire</a> Houlihan Lokey — a US investment bank specializing in financial restructuring — a few weeks after suspending withdrawals amid liquidity issues.



Meanwhile, Voyager Digital <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/voyager-files-for-bankruptcy-days-after-freezing-withdrawals/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy</a> on Wednesday, following crypto hedge fund <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/3ac-files-for-bankruptcy-as-co-founders-location-unknown/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Three Arrows Capital’s move</a> into Chapter 15 bankruptcy on Saturday.



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