Judge Enters $4.72B Judgment, Bans Celsius Founder

A federal judge entered a $4.72 billion Federal Trade Commission judgment against Celsius Network founder Alex Mashinsky on April 28, 2026, and imposed a permanent ban on his participation in the cryptocurrency and financial services industries. The civil order requires a $10 million payment that will be coordinated with Mashinsky’s criminal forfeiture obligations to the Department of Justice.

U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote signed a stipulated order in the Southern District of New York resolving the FTC’s civil claims against Mashinsky personally. The order records a $4.72 billion monetary judgment but requires only $10 million in immediate payment; that amount may be satisfied through Mashinsky’s existing DOJ criminal forfeiture obligations. Mashinsky is serving a 12-year federal prison sentence after pleading guilty in December 2024 to commodities fraud and securities fraud. In his plea, he admitted misleading customers about Celsius’s financial condition and manipulating the price of the platform’s native token, CEL, while privately selling his holdings.

The FTC first sued Celsius and three executives in July 2023, alleging the company made deceptive and unfair claims that customer deposits were safe, low-risk and accessible on demand while moving funds into high-risk investments and lending strategies. Celsius reached a corporate settlement with the FTC in August 2023 that imposed a $4.72 billion judgment against the company and barred it from offering crypto deposit, exchange or withdrawal services. That corporate deal did not resolve the agency’s claims against individual executives.

After his attorneys withdrew, Mashinsky initially represented himself while negotiators worked on a stipulated agreement in early 2026. The parties filed a joint motion to stay the case in late March, and the court entered the April 28 order. The individual settlement includes a broad industry ban: Mashinsky is prohibited from advertising, marketing, promoting, offering or distributing any product or service that permits customers to deposit, exchange, invest or withdraw assets, with the restrictions covering both cryptocurrencies and traditional financial products.

The civil order contains enforcement provisions that keep the full $4.72 billion judgment enforceable if Mashinsky fails to provide accurate asset disclosures or makes material misrepresentations in financial filings. The judgment is not dischargeable in bankruptcy. The order also imposes recordkeeping and reporting obligations that can last up to 18 years.

DOJ prosecutors have accused the schemes tied to Celsius of causing billions of dollars in customer losses and say Mashinsky personally received tens of millions. Celsius froze customer withdrawals in June 2022 and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2022; bankruptcy proceedings have recovered and returned some funds to creditors and customers, while significant losses remain.

The FTC’s resolution coordinates with the DOJ criminal case by allowing the $10 million civil payment to count toward criminal forfeiture. Mashinsky remains in federal custody, and the civil restrictions will apply after his release. The order follows similar federal actions against failed crypto lenders, including BlockFi and Genesis.