Alex Mashinsky, the founder and one-time CEO of bankrupt crypto lending platform Celsius Network, pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud on Tuesday afternoon, according to reports from Reuters and Inner City Press.

He has reportedly agreed to a maximum sentencing guideline of 360 months, or 30 years, in prison.

Last July, Mashinsky was arrested in New York and charged with seven criminal counts tied to the operation of and the 2022 collapse of his company, including securities fraud, commodities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to manipulate the price of Celsius’ native token, CEL.

“I said that Celsius had approval from regulators. It was false. I falsely said I was not selling my CEL tokens, I accept full responsibility for my actions,” Inner City Press quoted Mashinsky as saying in court. “I did not know which law it was violating, but I knew it was wrong … and illegal.”

Mashinsky originally pleaded not guilty and attempted to have two of the charges — the commodities manipulation charge and a market manipulation charge — dismissed. However, the judge overseeing Mashinsky’s case, U.S. District Court Judge John G. Koeltl of the Southern District of New York (SDNY) ruled that his attorney’s arguments against the charges were “without merit” meaning that, if he went to trial, Mashinsky would have to face the fu

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Author: Cheyenne Ligon