Ex-Celsius CEO Mashinsky Seeks to Overturn 12-Year Fraud Sentence
Alex Mashinsky, the former CEO of Celsius Network, has filed a motion in New York federal court to vacate his 12-year prison sentence. Mashinsky, sentenced in May 2025 for commodities and securities fraud, claims ineffective legal representation and procedural violations in his case. In a pro se filing submitted on May 28, 2026, Mashinsky argued that his legal counsel failed to adequately represent him and cited the “fruit of the poisonous tree” doctrine, suggesting evidence used against him was improperly obtained. The motion alleges communication breakdowns with his lawyers left him no option but to act without legal representation. “I did not discharge my counsel, but they stopped communicating with me,” Mashinsky stated in court documents. The disgraced CEO also attempted to shift blame for Celsius‘s collapse, pointing to alleged market manipulation by former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. In supporting documents, Mashinsky included text exchanges with Celsius’s ex-Chief Revenue Officer Roni Cohen-Pavon, asserting the latter tried a “hostile takeover” of the platform. Celsius declared bankruptcy in July 2022 during a market downturn that also took down FTX. Background on Mashinskys Legal Troubles Mashinsky‘s downfall is one of the most high-profile in crypto’s turbulent history. Once at the helm of Celsius, a company that promised