US prosecutors in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) are pushing back against an effort by Alex Mashinsky, the former CEO of the now-defunct cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius, to persuade a federal court to vacate his 12-year sentence for fraud and market manipulation.

In a Friday filing, SDNY Attorney James McDonald and Assistant US Attorney Allison Nichols argued that the court should deny Mashinsky's petition to vacate his conviction and sentence, describing many of his legal arguments as "without merit" and rejecting his claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. The filing keeps the post-sentencing process active in a case that has already produced both criminal and civil fallout for one of the best-known names from Celsius’ collapse.

Mashinsky informed the court in May that he would proceed pro se — that is, representing himself in the case — and filed a motion to vacate that includes claims concerning cryptocurrency exchange FTX and his former colleague, Celsius chief revenue officer Roni Cohen-Pavon.

"Mashinsky has not even submitted a sworn declaration in support of these baseless allegations, and his petition should be denied without a hearing or further fact-finding," prosecutors wrote, adding: "[...] He presents a litany of complaints, blaming others for problems at Celsius and rehashing the evidence presented at his sentencing hearing. Though Mashinsky stops short of claiming that he is factually innocent, he blames his lawyers for failing to press certain arguments on his behalf."

As of Tuesday, the judge overseeing the case had not responded to the federal prosecutors' filing.

Sentence, guilty plea and financial penalties

Mashinsky was sentenced in May 2025 to 144 months in prison after pleading guilty to commodities fraud and securities fraud tied to "manipulative and deceptive devices" at Celsius. Cohen-Pavon, who according to the government provided "substantial assistance" in the prosecutors' case against Mashinsky, was sentenced to time served in May.

Celsius was among a slew of crypto companies that filed for bankruptcy in 2022 amid a market downturn that began with the collapse of Terraform Labs. Authorities indicted Mashinsky and Cohen-Pavon in 2023, and both subsequently pleaded guilty. At sentencing, the former CEO was ordered to pay $48 million in forfeiture and agreed to pay $10 million as part of a separate settlement with the US Federal Trade Commission.

Related: Celsius co-founders Leon, Goldstein to pay FTC over $6M

CFTC ban and ongoing SEC case

In June, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that the former Celsius CEO was permanently banned from trading in markets within the commodities regulator's purview. The CFTC case was one of the last against Mashinsky and Celsius to be resolved following the company's collapse in 2022.

However, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) civil action against the co-founder, first filed in 2023, remains ongoing, despite the court having reached a judgment against the platform months after the initial complaint. As of July 30, the SEC reported that its attorneys and Mashinsky were "engaged in settlement discussions." The regulator asked the court for 60 days to file a status report on the matter, pushing any potential resolution to the end of September.