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By LARRY NEUMEISTER NEW YORK (AP) — The founder and former CEO of the failed cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network could face decades in prison after pleading guilty Tuesday to federal fraud charges, admitting that he misled customers about the business. Alexander Mashinsky , 58, of Manhattan, entered the plea in New York federal court to commodities and securities fraud. He admitted illegally manipulating the price of Celsius’s proprietary crypto token while secretly selling his own tokens at inflated prices to pocket about $48 million before Celsius collapsed into bankruptcy in 2022. In court, he admitted that in 2021 he publicly suggested there was regulatory consent for the company’s moves because he knew that customers “would find false comfort” with that. And he said that in 2019, he was selling the crypto tokens even though he told the public that he was not. He said he knew customers would draw false comfort from that too. “I accept full responsibility for my actions,” Mashinsky said of crimes that stretched from 2018 to 2022 as the company pitched itself to customers as a modern-day bank where they could safely deposit crypto assets and earn interest. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a release that Mashinsky “orchestrated one of the biggest frauds in the crypto industry” as his company’s assets purportedly grew to about $25 billion at its peak, making it one of the largest crypto platforms in the world. He said Mashinsky used catchy slogans like “Unbank Yourself” to entice prospective customers with a pledge that their money would be as safe in crypto accounts as money would be in a bank. Meanwhile, prosecutors said, Mashinsky and co-conspirators used customer deposits to fund market purchases of the Celsius token to prop up its value. Machinsky made tens of millions of dollars selling his own CEL tokens at artificially high prices, leaving his customers “holding the bag when the company went bankrupt,” Williams said. Related Articles National News | Eminem’s mother Debbie Nelson, whose rocky relationship fueled the rapper’s lyrics, dies at age 69 National News | FACT FOCUS: Vermont ruling does not say schools can vaccinate children without parental consent National News | Judge weighs whether to order Fani Willis to comply with lawmakers’ subpoenas over Trump case National News | Are you a former SmileDirectClub customer? You might be eligible for a refund National News | Justice Department announces sweeping reforms to curb suicides in federal prisons and jails An indictment alleged that Mashinsky promoted Celsius through media interviews, his social media accounts and Celsius’ website, along with a weekly “Ask Mashinsky Anything” session broadcast that was posted to Celsius’ website and a YouTube channel. Celsius employees from multiple departments who noticed false and misleading statements in the sessions warned Mashinsky, but they were ignored, the indictment said. A plea agreement Mashinsky made with prosecutors calls for him to be sentenced to up to 30 years in prison and to forfeit over $48 million, which is the amount of money he allegedly made by selling his company’s token. Sentencing was scheduled for April 8.President Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday appointed two new Ministry Secretaries. The letters of appointment were handed over yesterday at the Presidential Secretariat by Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake. Accordingly, President’s Counsel Ayesha Jinasena was appointed as the Justice and National Integration Ministry Secretary, while Malarmathi Gangadharan was appointed as the Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment Ministry Secretary.
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HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Ashlon Jackson scored a career-high 30 points and No. 14 Duke defeated No. 10 Kansas State, 73-62 on Monday, in the semifinals of the Ball Dawgs Classic. The Blue Devils (6-1) overcame an early 11-point deficit behind Jackon’s shooting hand to advance to Wednesday’s championship game against the winner of the game between No. 9 Oklahoma and DePaul. Jackson, who has scored in double figures in all six of Duke’s games, shot 12 of 19 (63.1%) from the floor, including 6 of 9 (66.7%) from 3-point range. Reigan Richardson added 16 points for the Blue Devils. Kansas State (5-1) was led by Ayoka Lee, who had 16 points. Serena Sundell scored 15 and Kennedy Taylor came off the bench to add 11 for the Wildcats. Kansas State: With her 16-point performance, Lee needs 48 points to pass Kendra Wecker (2001-05) for the Kansas State career scoring record. Wecker scored 2,333 points. Lee, the 2024-25 Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year, is averaging 15.3 points. Duke: Jackson hit her season average of 13.3 points by the 3:54 mark of the second quarter when her pull-up jumper gave her 14. The junior guard was 8 of 11 from the floor, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range, and had 20 points by halftime. With the Blue Devils trailing by six midway through the second quarter, Jackson triggered a 15-0 run with 13 of the team’s points to help Duke take a lead they’d never relinquish. Duke will face the winner of No. 9 Oklahoma-DePaul on Wednesday in the championship game, while Kansas State will face the loser in the consolation game. Get poll alerts and updates on AP Top 25 basketball throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketballSean Penn goes on anti-Oscars rant, praises Trump biopic while chain-smoking at press conference
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Political tension escalate in Odisha as Congress, BJD, BJP trade barbs over Modi's remarksNEW YORK— Kim Caldwell brought her fast-paced pressing style to Tennessee this season. It had been successful when she coached at the Division II level at Glenville State and then last season at Marshall. Now it’s working early in the season as Caldwell has guided No. 19 Tennessee back to the Top 25. The Lady Vols entered the AP women’s basketball poll Monday for the first time in a year, ending the longest drought outside the Top 25 in school history. The team’s next game is Saturday against N.C. Central. “I’ve tweaked it over the years, watched a lot of film,” she said. “I know when we started playing it, we liked it.” Besides pressing for the entire game, the Lady Vols constantly sub in fresh players every few minutes. Caldwell said that one of the assistants on the bench is in charge of the hockey-style substitutions that has players quickly shuttling in and out of the game. The players have bought in to the system. “We talked about it and we explained it to them,” Caldwell said. “It is fun. People get so caught up that you’re getting subbed out quickly, when you’re actually getting more possessions in 2-to-3 minutes then you would walking the ball up the floor.” Tennessee is 7-0 and coming off an impressive win over then-No. 17 Iowa on Saturday at the Women’s Champions Classic. Iowa coach Jan Jensen said that it was difficult to prepare for Tennessee’s style and the Lady Vols eventually wore down the Hawkeyes mentally. Iowa’s last basket in the 78-68 loss came with 4:38 left in the game. The Hawkeyes led 66-62 at that point. The Women’s Champions Classic will return to New York next season and in the second-year of a five-year plan. The doubleheader, which also featured No. 2 UConn routing then-No. 22 Louisville, drew over 9,000 fans. Break time Many teams are in final exams so the schedule is a bit lighter over the next two weeks. There are fewer marquee matchups this week. Strong starts No. 7 Maryland (10-0) is off to its best start since the Terrapins opened the 2018-19 season 12-0. Michigan State, which moved up seven spots to No. 17, is 9-0 and off to the best start in school history. The team won its first eight games twice, the last coming in 2020-21. Georgia Tech is also 9-0 and is off to its fastest start since 1977-78, Still recovering UCLA transfer Charlisse Leger-Walker will sit out this season while still recovering from an ACL tear she suffered in January. Leger-Walker received a medical redshirt and will return next season coach Cori Close said on Friday. NET ratings The NCAA’s weekly NET rankings — one of the tools that the selection committee uses for the NCAA Tournament bracket — has South Carolina still as the top choice with UConn, Kansas State and Texas as the next three. UCLA, which is No. 1 in the AP poll, is fifth. Stay Informed: Subscribe to Our Newsletter Today