The U.S. Department of Justice seeks a 20-year prison sentence for the founder of Celsius

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, Alex Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of the now-defunct cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network, faces the possibility of spending the next 20 years in prison—if the sentencing recommendation submitted by the U.S. Department of Justice is adopted by the court. The sentencing is set for May 8.

In the recommendation submitted late Monday, the Department of Justice urged the court to impose a 20-year prison sentence, stating that Mashinsky's crimes were "deliberate and meticulously planned" fraudulent acts that resulted in nearly $7 billion in customer losses, leaving thousands of people financially devastated.