New York AG Wins Up to $35 Million Judgment Against Alex Mashinsky

A New York court entered a consent judgment against former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky that provides for up to $35 million in monetary relief and largely bars him from cryptocurrency-related business activities.

The order, filed Oct. 8, requires $25 million in damages and imposes a separate $10 million judgment. The damages obligation can be satisfied through a $10 million payment to the U.S. Department of Justice under Mashinsky’s federal forfeiture order. The separate judgment can be satisfied when he completes his prison sentence, subject to conditions in the order.

Mashinsky is prohibited, except for personal transactions, from issuing, selling, promoting, managing or providing investment advice involving securities, commodities, cryptocurrency or digital assets.

The judgment resolves Attorney General Letitia James’ 2023 civil case, which accused Mashinsky of misleading investors through Celsius’ Earn Interest Accounts and CEL token sales. Mashinsky admitted violating New York’s Martin Act and Executive Law § 63(12) as part of the judgment.

He pleaded guilty to commodities fraud and securities fraud in December 2024 and was sentenced in May 2025 to 144 months in prison, along with $48,393,446 in criminal forfeiture. Celsius halted customer withdrawals in June 2022 and filed for bankruptcy protection the following month, leaving customers unable to access approximately $4.7 billion in crypto assets.