Source: Cointelegraph
Original: “U.S. Prosecutors Submit Over 200 Victim Statements in Former Celsius CEO Case”
U.S. federal prosecutors have submitted hundreds of victim statements in the case against Alex Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of the now-defunct crypto lending platform Celsius Network.
Manhattan Acting U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton stated in a letter to the Manhattan federal court on April 23 that he shared “over 200 victim impact statements” collected by his office.
These statements total 418 pages and come from users of Celsius, some of whom are named while others are identified only by initials, detailing the impact of the company's collapse on their lives and the funds they lost as a result.
Some statements mention that victims entrusted their life savings to Celsius, believing Mashinsky's promises and considering the platform to be safe.
Other statements express disappointment regarding the amounts returned to them in the bankruptcy proceedings, with many stating that the amounts received were less than what they had invested in the platform.
Before Celsius Network's collapse, the platform allowed users to deposit cryptocurrencies to earn yields and offered loans secured by cryptocurrencies. In mid-2022, as the crypto market crashed, Celsius paused withdrawals and filed for bankruptcy in July of that year.
In July 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice charged Mashinsky with seven counts, but he reached a plea agreement and admitted to charges of commodity and securities fraud in December, facing a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison if the two counts are sentenced consecutively.
Some Seek Leniency for Mashinsky
Many statements reviewed by Cointelegraph call for the court to impose the maximum possible sentence on Mashinsky, but at least two statements urge the court to show leniency towards the convicted fraudster.
One statement, written by someone identifying themselves as “Mike,” argued that further punishment of Mashinsky would be “excessive,” claiming, without evidence, that the Celsius founder “is a coordinated target of attack by Sam Bankman-Fried,” the former CEO of the collapsed FTX crypto exchange and a convicted fraudster.
Another statement by Artur Abreu indicated that Mashinsky should receive leniency because he has shown remorse and that macroeconomic factors largely contributed to Celsius's collapse.
Mashinsky is set to be sentenced on May 8, and in a sentencing memorandum dated April 17, he argued that he should not be sentenced to more than one year and one day in prison, or 366 days, because he “had genuine good intentions and has an unblemished record prior to this.”
The government's sentencing memorandum is due to be submitted on April 24.
Related: After hackers accepted a bounty agreement, ZKsync successfully recovered $5 million in stolen tokens.
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