Founder of cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network arrested
Alexander Mashinsky founded Celsius in 2018. The founder of Cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network was arrested Thursday on federal charges. Alexander Mashinsky founded Celsius in 2018 and positioned it as a stable, safe alternative to traditional financial institutions that would provide investors who held crypto assets financial freedom and economic opportunity. Instead, federal prosecutors alleged he was misrepresenting the company’s financial health before it collapsed into bankruptcy a year ago. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission filed companion lawsuits Thursday that said Mashinsky and Celsius "falsely promised investors a safe investment with high returns" but misled investors about the financial success of Celsius' business and the price of Celsius’ own crypto asset security was fraudulently manipulated. "Defendants also falsely claimed that Celsius had 1 million active users on Celsius’s platform. It did not...