New York CNN —US prosecutors charged the former CEO of bankrupt cryptocurrency platform Celsius Networks with defrauding customers and misleading them about the company’s business. An indictment unsealed Thursday in New York charges Alexander Mashinsky with securities fraud, wire fraud and commodities fraud. “Mashinsky portrayed Celsius as a modern-day bank, where customers could safely deposit crypto assets and earn interest,” the indictment states. Earlier this year, the New York attorney general’s office also sued Mashinsky for fraud. The Securities and Exchange Commission also filed civil fraud charges against Celsius and Mashinsky, and is seeking to permanently ban him from running an exchange and from buying or selling cryptocurrencies.

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Persons: Alexander Mashinsky, Roni Cohen, Pavon, “ Mashinsky, Mashinsky, Sam Bankman, Binance, Benjamin Allee, “ Alex Mashinsky, ” Organizations: New, New York CNN, Commodity Futures, Commission, US, Southern, of, Federal Trade Commission, Securities, Exchange Commission Locations: New York, FTX, of New York