The former chief executive is permanently barred from the securities, commodities and crypto industries. The money is a backstop tied to his federal forfeiture and his 12-year prison sentence, not a new payment to creditors.
October 9, 2026
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New York's case against the former head of Celsius Network ended on Friday with a ban and a contingent penalty.
Attorney General Letitia James said she secured "up to $35 million" from Alex Mashinsky, the co-founder and former chief executive of the crypto lender, and a permanent ban on his participation in the securities, commodities and cryptocurrency industries. James sued him in 2023, accusing him of misleading hundreds of thousands of investors, including more than 26,000 New Yorkers, about the safety of their deposits.
How the money works
The $35 million is not a fine paid on signing. Under the settlement, Mashinsky must pay New York $25 million if he fails to forfeit $10 million in ill-gotten gains to the federal government as part of his federal plea agreement, on top of assets already forfeited. He must pay a further $10 million if he does not serve his full prison sentence.
If he forfeits the $10 million and completes his sentence, New York receives nothing under those provisions. The settlement functions as a backstop.
"Alex Mashinsky promised New Yorkers that his company was a secure place to invest their hard-earned savings, only to leave them penniless when his risky investments collapsed," James said.
The broader record
Mashinsky is serving a 12-year federal sentence after pleading guilty to securities and commodities fraud. In the criminal case he was ordered to forfeit more than $48 million. The Federal Trade Commission reached a settlement with him in April that included a suspended $4.7 billion judgment and a $10 million payment, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission imposed permanent trading and registration bans in June.
More than $3.4 billion had been distributed to Celsius creditors through the bankruptcy as of August, according to the attorney general's office.
What it adds
The New York action mainly closes the last major civil case. Federal regulators had already barred Mashinsky, and he is in prison. What New York adds is a state-level ban covering securities, commodities and crypto, and a financial incentive tied to the criminal case.
Two views
One view is that the outcome is meaningful accountability. A state regulator has obtained a lifetime industry ban and built in penalties that bite if the federal outcome unravels.
Another view is that it is largely symbolic. The defendant is already imprisoned and banned by two federal agencies, the payment is contingent, and creditors gain nothing new from the settlement.
Next steps
Whether Mashinsky completes the $10 million federal forfeiture determines the larger of the two conditional payments. State attorneys general, who have taken a more active role in crypto enforcement, may cite the structure in future cases.