Celsius founder applies to revoke 12-year prison sentence and accuses FTX of attempting to "destroy Celsius"

Celsius founder Alex Mashinsky submitted a motion to a New York court seeking to overturn his 12-year sentence for fraud and market manipulation. The documents show that Mashinsky chose to represent himself (pro se) after his lawyer withdrew, stating that his lawyer "stopped communicating with him," forcing him to submit documents to the court personally. He claims that there was "ineffective legal representation" in his previous defense and invokes the "fruit of the poisonous tree" doctrine to question the legality of some evidence in the case.

Mashinsky also accused Sam Bankman-Fried of attempting to "destroy Celsius" in the submitted materials and attributed market manipulation related to the CEL token to FTX. Additionally, he publicly shared text messages with former Celsius Chief Revenue Officer Roni Cohen-Pavon, claiming that the latter had attempted a "hostile takeover" of the company. In 2025, Mashinsky pleaded guilty to commodity fraud and securities fraud and was sentenced to forfeit $48 million, while also required to pay $10 million in settlement to the Federal Trade Commission. Cohen-Pavon, who previously assisted the prosecution as a witness, has been sentenced to "time served" and paid over $1 million in fines.