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Claim review. Market conduct

Supported

The cited record supports the material proposition.

The SEC and the US Department of Justice said Celsius and Mashinsky manipulated the price of the CEL token through undisclosed buybacks funded in part with customer money.

About
Celsius Network LLC
Claim made by
US Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York, regulator statement
Published
13 July 2023
Original
Celsius Founder And Former Chief Revenue Officer Charged In Connection With Multibillion-Dollar Fraud And Market Manipulation Schemes
Evidence score
90 How it was scored
Last reviewed
25 October 2026

Why this label

The records support the proposition. The SEC alleged a scheme to raise the CEL price through buybacks far beyond disclosed purchasesS4. The DOJ charges quoted an internal message that the value was fake and based on company spendingS3. DOJ said Mashinsky secretly used customer money to prop up the CEL priceS2. Mashinsky pleaded guilty to the commodities fraud count tied to the CEL scheme on 3 December 2024S2, which turns the allegation into an admitted finding. The SEC matter is a civil complaint to which Celsius consented, and the plea is the stronger recordS4.

Current procedural position

Mashinsky pleaded guilty on 3 December 2024 and was sentenced on 8 May 2025S1S2. The SEC civil complaint 1:23-cv-06005 was filed on 13 July 2023, with Celsius consenting to the requested reliefS4.

Record supporting the assessment

to artificially increase and support the price of CEL through manipulative buy backs
S4 Tier A US Securities and Exchange Commission, Celsius Network Limited and Alexander "Alex" Mashinsky, 14 July 2023
The main problem was that the value was fake and was based on us spending millions.
S3 Tier A US Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York, Celsius Founder And Former Chief Revenue Officer Charged In Connection With Multibillion-Dollar Fraud And Market Manipulation Schemes, 13 July 2023
secretly used customer money to prop up the price of CEL token
S2 Tier A US Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York, Celsius Founder And Former CEO Alexander Mashinsky Pleads Guilty To Multi-Billion Dollar Fraud And Market Manipulation Schemes, 3 December 2024

Conflicting or limiting record

No record located that conflicts with this assessment.

Evidence score: 90 of 100

The score grades how well the record establishes this assessment. It is not a score of Celsius Network LLC. Score = source authority + directness + corroboration + procedural accuracy + currency + reproducibility.

ComponentPointsMaxReason
Source authorityIs the source competent to establish the proposition?2830A guilty plea and two regulator records establish the conduct.
DirectnessDoes the source state the proposition or only discuss adjacent facts?1820The records state the buyback and manipulation scheme plainly.
CorroborationDo independent records support the same material point?1415DOJ, SEC and the internal message quoted in the charges agree.
Procedural accuracyDoes the record settle the procedural state the claim describes?1215Admitted by plea for the commodities count, the SEC case consented in part.
CurrencyHas the record been checked against later developments?910Checked against the 2024 plea and 2025 sentence.
ReproducibilityCan a reader locate the passage and repeat the assessment?910The DOJ and SEC releases are public.
Total90100

Timeline

  1. SEC alleges CEL buyback schemeS4
  2. DOJ charges quote internal messages on CELS3
  3. Mashinsky pleads guilty to the CEL commodities countS2

Related cases

  • United States v. Alexander MashinskyUS District Court for the Southern District of New York. Criminal. Not published.Stage: Convicted by guilty plea and sentenced. Motion to vacate pendingS9.
    • Guilty plea to commodities fraud and securities fraudS2
    • Sentenced to 12 years and more than US$48 million forfeitureS1
  • SEC v. Celsius Network Limited and Alexander MashinskyUS Securities and Exchange Commission. Civil. 1:23-cv-06005.Stage: Complaint filed. Celsius consented to the requested reliefS4.

    Revision history

    • Assessment first published with label Supported.

    Have a record that changes this assessment? See corrections and responses.

    Sources

    1. S4Tier A Celsius Network Limited and Alexander "Alex" MashinskyUS Securities and Exchange Commission. Regulator press release. 14 July 2023.Litigation release on the SEC civil complaint. Supports the buyback allegations. Celsius consented. Mashinsky's resolution is not stated.
    2. S3Tier A Celsius Founder And Former Chief Revenue Officer Charged In Connection With Multibillion-Dollar Fraud And Market Manipulation SchemesUS Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York. Government press release. 13 July 2023.Sets out the seven original counts and quotes internal messages on CEL. These were allegations at the time of charging.
    3. S2Tier A Celsius Founder And Former CEO Alexander Mashinsky Pleads Guilty To Multi-Billion Dollar Fraud And Market Manipulation SchemesUS Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York. Government press release. 3 December 2024.Supports the guilty plea to commodities fraud and securities fraud and the CEL price support using customer money.
    4. S1Tier A Founder Of Celsius Sentenced To 12 Years For Fraud And Market ManipulationUS Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York. Government press release. 8 May 2025.Supports the 12-year sentence, the counts and the forfeiture. It does not resolve the later motion to vacate.
    5. S9Tier C Federal prosecutors blast ex-Celsius CEO's motion to vacate as 'without merit'Cointelegraph. Press report. 18 August 2026.Reports the prosecutors' opposition filing of 14 August 2026 and that the judge had not yet ruled. Press source for the current procedural state.

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