Alex Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of collapsed crypto lender Celsius Network, faces the prospect of spending the next two decades behind bars

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has requested a 20-year prison sentence for Alex Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of collapsed crypto lender Celsius Network.

In a sentencing memo filed late Monday, the DOJ called for a "significant" prison term to reflect the "gravity" of Mashinsky's crimes, which they described as a "deliberate, calculated" fraud that caused nearly $7 billion in customer losses and left thousands financially devastated.

Mashinsky, who pleaded guilty in December to misrepresenting the safety of customer deposits and manipulating Celsius's CEL token, "refuses to accept responsibility" for his actions and continues to shift blame to regulators, market conditions and even his victims, prosecutors said.

"At times, Mashinsky has sought to minimize his crimes by attributing them to the rapidly changing legal and regulatory landscape or to the economic downturn that began in 2022," prosecutors wrote.

"But Mashinsky’s crimes were not the product of negligence, naiveté, or bad luck. They were the result of deliberate, calculated decisions to lie, deceive, and steal in pursuit of personal fortune."

At its peak in 2021, Celsius managed more than $20 billion in customer crypto assets, which Mashinsky aggressively marketed as a safe alternative to banks, promising high yields and low risk.

However, prosecutors said those promises were a sham: Celsius took uncollateralized loans, made risky trades and secretly used customer assets to manipulate the price of its CEL token — all while publicly assuring customers that their funds were safe and boasting about his own loyalty to the CEL token.

"When the price of CEL dropped in late 2021, Mashinsky personally sold over $48 million worth of CEL at inflated prices in order to maximize his own profit," prosecutors said.

"He then lied to customers, claiming that he was 'HODLing' alongside them and that he had no intention of selling."

Celsius collapsed into bankruptcy in July 2022 with billions of dollars in customer funds trapped. Post-bankruptcy, customers were left with a shortfall of more than $1 billion. Adjusting for today's crypto prices post-2024's "Trump-trade" rally, prosecutors estimate the total loss is closer to $7 billion.

"In all, Mashinsky's crimes have had a devastating impact on the lives of his victims," they wrote.

"They have lost their savings, their investments, and in some cases, their homes and families."

Prosecutors warned that anything less than a significant prison sentence would fail to reflect the gravity of Mashinsky’s conduct, undermine respect for the law, and send the wrong message to other crypto executives tempted to chase personal enrichment at the expense of their customers.

"A sentence of imprisonment is necessary to deter Mashinsky and others from committing similar crimes," they said.

Judge John G. Koeltl will sentence Mashinsky on May 8.