Celsius Network’s Alex Mashinsky Arrested, Firm Sued by SEC, CFTC, FTC

Alex Mashinksy, co-Founder and former CEO of insolvent crypto lender Celsius was arrested on Thursday following an investigation into the company’s collapse, Bloomberg reported citing a person familiar with the matter.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accused the firm and Mashinsky of securities fraud, in a lawsuit filed on the same day. Lawsuits from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) immediately followed.

Bloomberg reported earlier this month that Mashinsky and Celsius may also face a suit from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The report said that investigators at the CFTC concluded that the bankrupt lender and its CEO broke the regulators’ rules by misleading investors.

The lending platform filed for bankruptcy last July, and crypto consortium Fahrenheit recently won a bid to acquire its assets.

New York Attorney General Letitia James filed the suit against Mashinsky earlier in the month, accusing him of misleading investors about the firm’s health.

In SEC’s complaint asserts that Celsius’ token CEL and its Earn interest Program are securities.

“In this case, Celsius offered and sold CEL and the Earn Interest Program as securities….. Celsius and Mashinsky never filed a registration statement or had one in effect with the SEC for their offers and sales of securities through the Earn Interest Program,” the complaint said.

Celsius and SEC did not immediately respond to a CoinDesk request for comment.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

UPDATE (July 13, 13:20 UTC): Adds CFTC, FTC has filed suit and more detail throughout.