Founder of crypto lender Celsius Network arrested, charged with fraud(reuters.com)
reuters.com
Founder of crypto lender Celsius Network arrested, charged with fraud
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us-sec-sues-celsius-network-its-founder-2023-07-13/
353 comments
Let's say I run a swap meet for people to buy and sell Pokémon cards. There are lots of scammers out there, but I promise people they are going to get good prices. And I even offer to buy cards off of people at good prices to drum up interest.
Tomorrow, the SEC decides that Pokémon cards are securities (far-fetched, but work with me here) Suddenly, anyone buying and selling them becomes a criminal. I tell people via text message "pish-posh - there's no way the SEC could enforce this". But people stop coming so I promise them that I can buy up all of their cards anyway. Especially the cards that complete my collection.
Then it gets enforced. Not only did I trade in illegal assets, I am now guilty of fraud for telling people it was safe. I am also guilty of market manipulation! And on top of it, I did it via text message so it's now wire fraud to boot.
As far as I understand reading the charges, this is mostly what he is guilty of. This is a bit different than the "true" type-1 frauds that exist in crypto - the blatant pump and dump schemes, et al. In fact, I would feel safe to say there might have been no fraud without the SEC classification. (EDIT: Ignore this since they also did a lot of legitimate fraud too)
Regardless, the writing is on the wall for crypto. I could not even fathom why you would want to be holding onto even Bitcoin or Ether right now.
Tomorrow, the SEC decides that Pokémon cards are securities (far-fetched, but work with me here) Suddenly, anyone buying and selling them becomes a criminal. I tell people via text message "pish-posh - there's no way the SEC could enforce this". But people stop coming so I promise them that I can buy up all of their cards anyway. Especially the cards that complete my collection.
Then it gets enforced. Not only did I trade in illegal assets, I am now guilty of fraud for telling people it was safe. I am also guilty of market manipulation! And on top of it, I did it via text message so it's now wire fraud to boot.
As far as I understand reading the charges, this is mostly what he is guilty of. This is a bit different than the "true" type-1 frauds that exist in crypto - the blatant pump and dump schemes, et al. In fact, I would feel safe to say there might have been no fraud without the SEC classification. (EDIT: Ignore this since they also did a lot of legitimate fraud too)
Regardless, the writing is on the wall for crypto. I could not even fathom why you would want to be holding onto even Bitcoin or Ether right now.
"Somebody is lying. Either the bank is lying or Celsius is lying.” - Alex Mashinsky
EDIT: omg at the almost $5B settlement
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/13/former-celsius-ceo-arrested-... ("The FTC also announced a $4.7 billion settlement against the exchange, which will not be paid until creditors and investors have been repaid in bankruptcy proceedings.")
EDIT: omg at the almost $5B settlement
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/13/former-celsius-ceo-arrested-... ("The FTC also announced a $4.7 billion settlement against the exchange, which will not be paid until creditors and investors have been repaid in bankruptcy proceedings.")
Would someone explain to me what the endgame of these fraudsters is? I mean, of course they are trying to get rich quick pulling these schemes but you would believe that they do it because they perceive that there is some sort of opportunity to cash out without inevitably going to prison some day, right? What is the thought process in the mind of these criminals when shit hits the fan? Maybe just hire very expensive lawyers or move to some weird jurisdiction where they can't get arrested?
Crypto is a fraudster's paradise.
And now "crypto" bros are moving to AI. The never ending story.
Some people are confused about SEC involvement. As a reminder, the SEC cannot bring criminal charges. If someone gets arrested, Department of Justice decided to arrest them.
> The U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan said it would hold a press conference at 11:30 a.m. ET (1530 GMT) to provide details on the charges against Mashinsky and Cohen-Pavon.
> The U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan said it would hold a press conference at 11:30 a.m. ET (1530 GMT) to provide details on the charges against Mashinsky and Cohen-Pavon.
People should look into his wife's actions as well, selling merch making fun of victims of her husband etc. Great news to hear though.
Okay, now that I have your attention, how about a new sort of crypto investment. Let me pitch you.. A privatized prison just for crypto scammers and bros. They could be the almost free hb1-labour, but with alot more entrepreneural spirit. Get coders, managers and advertisers at very reasonable prices. Payable even bitcoin or montero.
I haven’t followed crypto very closely, but I noticed a few names. I’ve read the headlines for the last few weeks. It seems like most prominent players are now in legal trouble, enough to force them to cease operations.
Who are the most prominent players who are operating?
Who are the most prominent players who are operating?
Is there an equivalent to https://chainsec.io/defi-hacks/ which tracks crypto bros got arrested/sentenced?
He has quite the personal website: https://www.mashinsky.com/
it's kinda ironic that crypto started as a rebellion against the banks that are stealing our money and all that
The best thing to come out of the pandemic is the downfall of Crypto after the federal reserve raised interest rates
Obligatory Matt Levine article on the topic: https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-07-13/celsiu...
Well that's definitely one way to "unbank" yourself.
Meh, the SEC is merely concerned with looking like a reputable and trustworthy authority.
After some fines are paid, all will be well. This is theater.
After some fines are paid, all will be well. This is theater.
I'm shocked! SHOCKED! Well, not that shocked.
cryptocurrency is very attractive to people who want to scam people out of money, and ransomware probably wouldn't exist without it.
I say pour on the hate for cryptocurrency. The hate is justified and fully earned.
cryptocurrency is very attractive to people who want to scam people out of money, and ransomware probably wouldn't exist without it.
I say pour on the hate for cryptocurrency. The hate is justified and fully earned.
Waa looking to see if he was featured in the Forbes magazine front cover. He was somewhat praised in their articles. I guess it is true, Forbes is the honeypot for Tech scumbags haha
I dunno it feels like there might be a pattern here
Beautiful
Oh no. Anyway.
This is great for crypto. Justice for scammers who thought crypto users could be taken advantage of without consequence. Ponzi schemes like Celsius are not exclusive to crypto and it's great to know the Justice department will prosecute scammers regardless of the unit of currency being used.
Say it with me:
crypto is fraud
crypto is fraud
US v Mashinsky: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.60...
SEC v Celsius: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.60...
FTC v Celsius: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.60...
CFTC v Celsius: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.60...