Celsius founder Mashinsky criticizes the 20-year prison term proposal: it's a "death sentence."

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, Celsius founder Alex Mashinsky expressed strong dissatisfaction with the U.S. Department of Justice's proposed 20-year prison sentence. Previously, Mashinsky pleaded guilty in December 2024 to commodity fraud and manipulating the price of CEL tokens, profiting $48 million by selling tokens before the collapse of Celsius. His legal team submitted a response memorandum to the New York District Court on May 5, requesting to reduce the sentence to less than 366 days, arguing that Mashinsky is a first-time non-violent offender with a 30-year unblemished business record. Celsius filed for bankruptcy protection in July 2022, with liabilities of $4.7 billion, affecting the assets of hundreds of thousands of users.