A federal judge has approved a joint request from lawyers for Alex Mashinsky and the United States Department of Justice modifying the former Celsius CEO\u2019s bail conditions to include electronic monitoring.<\/p>\n
In an Aug. 8 filing in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Gabriel Gorenstein signed off on a modification to Mashinsky\u2019s $40-million bond ensured by his brokerage account at First Republic Bank and his New York home. Prosecutors and defense lawyers jointly signed a request to have Mashinsky under electronic monitoring and be restricted from withdrawing, transferring or receiving more than $10,000 without prior approval from the court. The bail modification would remove the need to use Mashinsky\u2019s First Republic account to ensure the bond.<\/p>\n
Following a motion from prosecutors with the consent of Mashinsky\u2019s legal team, Judge John Koeltl ordered on Aug. 9 that most of the trial materials not publicly available could not be disclosed by any involved party, specifically mentioning social media posts on Facebook or Twitter (now X). The order included concerns about information being released that could lead to witnesses being intimidated.<\/p>\n
Mashinsky, who was the CEO of the crypto lending platform Celsius Network until September 2022, faces charges of securities fraud, commodities fraud and wire fraud for allegedly misleading and defrauding users. Following his arrest on July 13, he pleaded not guilty to all counts and was largely not allowed to travel as part of his bail conditions.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s unclear what form of electronic monitoring Mashinsky could have. The bail condition often comes with a wrist or ankle monitor that alerts authorities to a subject\u2019s location at all times. Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is under similar restrictions, but also largely confined to his parents\u2019 California home.\u00a0<\/p>\n