Gold bull, Peter Schiff, has questioned why New York Attorney General Letitia James took long to act on charging Celsius Network’s Alex Mashinsky with fraud. According to Mr Schiff, evidence of financial malpractices was evident at Celsius Network before its eventual collapse mid-last year. He shared his opinion on the matter through the tweet below.
Why didn't you act over a year ago, before all the money was lost? That would have made a difference. All the evidence was publicly available back then. https://t.co/ARUGrBr1gU
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) January 7, 2023
New York Attorney General Sues Alex Mashinsky for Fraud
On Thursday, January 5th, New Attorney General Letitia James announced that she was suing the co-founder and former CEO of Celsius Network, Alex Mashinsky,’ for defrauding hundreds of thousands of investors, including more than 26,000 New Yorkers, out of billions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency.’
I'm suing the former CEO of cryptocurrency platform @CelsiusNetwork for defrauding investors out of billions of dollars.
Alex Mashinsky lied to people about the risks of investing in Celsius, hid its deteriorating financial condition, and failed to register in New York.
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) January 5, 2023
The lawsuit against Mr Mashinsky adds that he ‘repeatedly made false and misleading statements about Celsius’s safety to encourage investors to deposit billions of dollars in digital assets onto the platform.’ He repeatedly claimed that Celsius was safe, offered low-risk investments, and only lent assets to credible and reputable entities.
However, this was not the case as ‘investors’ assets were routinely exposed to high-risk counterparties and strategies, many of which resulted in losses that Mashinsky concealed from investors.’
Attorney General James added:
© Solana Daily Brief, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is for informational purposes only. It is not to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.As the former CEO of Celsius, Alex Mashinsky promised to lead investors to financial freedom but led them down a path of financial ruin.
The law is clear that making false and unsubstantiated promises and misleading investors is illegal. Today, we are taking action on behalf of thousands of New Yorkers who were defrauded by Mr. Mashinsky to recoup their losses.
My office will stay vigilant and ensure that bad actors trying to take advantage of New York investors are held accountable.