Former Celsius Chief Revenue Officer Pleads Guilty to Manipulating Cryptocurrency Market
Ronnie Cohen-Pavone, Celsius’ former chief revenue officer, pleaded guilty to four criminal charges in federal court in Manhattan, New York.
Cohen-Pavon admitted to manipulating the market price of CEL, the primary cryptocurrency issued by bankrupt digital asset bank Celsius.
The ruling was issued on September 13 by US District Judge John Koeltl, according to Reuters.
After pleading guilty, Cohen-Pavon’s sentencing was set for December 11, 2024.
The former CEO was indicted in July 2024 while federal prosecutors charged Celsius founder Alex Machinski with fraud and conspiracy.
Lawyers from the Justice Department alleged that Mashinsky conspired with Cohen-Pavone to artificially inflate the price of CEL and mislead investors. Prosecutors also said the former Celsius boss defrauded customers and lied about the company’s finances.
A report by an independent, court-appointed investigator concluded that Celsius, under Mashinsky’s leadership, was operating something similar to a Ponzi scheme.
Records released during the company’s bankruptcy proceedings in 2022 also found that several executives, including the former CEO, withdrew millions from Celsius accounts shortly before the company filed bankruptcy papers.
Mashinsky was arrested and later released.
The court set bail at $40 million, and the Justice Department froze many of his assets, including corporate assets at heavyweight Goldman Sachs.
Regulators, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), have sued Mashinsky, alleging violations of the law.
New York Attorney General Letitia James also accused Celsius founder of violating state rules. The court ordered Mashinsky to respond to the lawsuit on August 5.
Mashinsky pleaded not guilty or denied the charges against him for his role in the collapse of Celsius. His lawyers asked the court to dismiss the FTC’s lawsuit against Mashinsky, claiming that their client was wrongly accused.
