Celsius Execs Ordered to Pay $16.1M for Deceptive Crypto Claims

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has ordered former Celsius Network executives to pay $16.1 million in penalties for making deceptive claims about the company's services.

Celsius, a cryptocurrency platform that allowed users to buy and hold crypto, claimed that consumers could earn up to 18.63% APY on assets held on the platform with minimal risk.

However, an FTC investigation found that Celsius made unsecured loans to institutional borrowers and that the median return for users was only 4.9% APY.

The company's former CEO Alex Mashinsky agreed to pay $10 million in penalties, while former chief strategy officer Shlomi Leon agreed to pay $4.1 million, and former chief technology officer Hanoch 'Nuke' Goldstein agreed to pay over $2 million.