Judge gives US prosecutors until Oct. 3 for discovery in case against Alex Mashinsky

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Cointelegraph By Turner Wright
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Attorneys from the US Department of Justice have additional time to conduct discovery and give former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky’s defense team time to review related documents.

In a July 25 order, U.S. District Judge John Koeltl said he would exclude the time between July 25 and October 3 from the calculations of the Speedy Trial Act — the law that requires a federal criminal trial to begin within 70 days of an indictment. He cited the “volume of discovery” as well as the “complexity of the case” against the former Celsius CEO.

“The Court finds that the ends of justice served by the continuance outweigh the best interest of the defendant and the public in a speedy trial,” Judge Koeltl said.

The law requires prosecutors to largely disclose any information “favorable to a defendant” that is “material either to guilt or to punishment” to Mashinsky’s legal team. The October 3 conference will put Mashinsky in a New York court just one day after the start of the trial against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who was indicted in the same district.

Related: What criminal charges for Celsius ex-CEO mean for crypto industry

Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2022, weeks after the platform announced it would pause all withdrawals without providing a definitive timeline on their return. Mashinsky resigned as CEO in September 2022.

U.S. authorities charged and arrested Mashinsky on July 13 with securities fraud, commodities fraud and wire fraud in connection with allegedly defrauding customers and misleading them about certain information about Celsius’ business practices. The former CEO of Celsius pleaded not guilty to all charges and was released on a $40 million bond.

The judge has not yet set a trial date for the former Celsius CEO’s criminal case. The fraud allegations came in parallel to a complaint filed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission against Mashinsky. The Securities and Exchange Commission also filed its own civil lawsuit against the former CEO, while the Federal Trade Commission announced it had issued a $4.7 billion fine against Celsius in July.

Magazine: XRP is not a security, Celsius CEO arrested on criminal charges, and more: Hodler’s Digest, July 9-15