Alexander Mashinsky (Ukrainian: Олександр Машинський; born October 1965) is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, business executive and fraudster.

[8] Mashinsky is the defendant in a civil lawsuit brought in January 2023 by the Attorney General of New York, who accuses him of securities fraud while CEO of Celsius.

[10] On the same day, he was indicted and arrested by federal authorities in the Southern District of New York for alleged fraud and market manipulation.

[13] After relocating to New York City, Mashinsky ran a business trading contracts for delivery of chemicals such as urea, gold, and sodium cyanide.

[22] Mashinsky was inspired to start the company after a car he reserved for himself and his wife did not pick them up, along with a business associate he was trying to impress, from the airport.

[23] He also partnered with Gogo Inflight Internet to offer complimentary in-flight WiFi passes to travelers who booked a GroundLink limousine while aboard a US flight.

[13] RTX, a London-based financial technology firm in the telecom industry, hired Mashinsky as Global CEO in September 2016.

[13] In 2017, Mashinsky founded Celsius Network, a borrowing and lending platform for digital assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies.

Some insiders reported that he personally directed large individual cryptocurrency trades, overruling executives with significant financial experience.

The Unsecured Creditors Committee, an organization of depositors, described the executive change as "a positive step" toward resolving the cases against Celsius.

[40] On January 31, 2023, Shoba Pillay, a court-appointed examiner and a former federal prosecutor, filed a 470-page report on Celsius (with an additional 200 pages of appendices) with the bankruptcy court.

[42] On January 5, 2023, the Attorney General of New York filed a civil lawsuit against Mashinsky, accusing him of violating the state's Martin Act by committing securities fraud.

Letitia James's office seeks a fine against Mashinsky, monetary damages, and a ban that would prevent him from leading a company or working in the securities industry in New York.

[45][46][47] According to U.S. Attorney Damian Williams in a press release from the Department of Justice: Alexander Mashinsky orchestrated one of the biggest frauds in the crypto industry.

He lured ordinary crypto investors into Celsius with false promises of low-risk investments, claiming their funds were as safe as money in a bank.