The previous CEO of the failed cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Community misled buyers, main them “down a path of financial ruin,” New York Lawyer Basic Letitia James stated Thursday in a lawsuit in opposition to Alex Mashinsky that seeks to ban him from doing enterprise within the state.
In her lawsuit filed in state courtroom in Manhattan, James stated Mashinsky, a co-founder of Celsius, “engaged in a scheme to defraud hundreds of thousands of investors” by getting them to place billions of {dollars}’ price of their digital belongings in his platform.
The lawsuit alleges that Mashinsky promised hefty returns and stated Celsius was as secure as a financial institution, however in the meantime was participating in dangerous investments and never telling buyers when these investments failed.
Celsius filed for chapter final 12 months, after halting its operations in June.
Emails looking for remark have been despatched to Mashinsky’s legal professionals.
Celsius’ failure was a part of a slew of issues within the cryptocurrency trade final 12 months, together with the collapse of stablecoin Terra, and the implosion of lending platform FTX.