Leon, the company's former chief strategy officer, will pay $4.1 million, while former chief technology officer Goldstein is set to pay $2.4 million. Under the court orders, both men face permanent bans from marketing or offering any products related to the deposit, exchange, or withdrawal of digital assets. The FTC originally filed the complaint in 2023, alleging that the executives misled customers about the safety of their deposits and the firm's actual reserve holdings.
The regulator maintained that while Celsius marketed itself as a secure alternative to traditional banking, it lacked the advertised insurance policies and made over $1 billion in unsecured loans. The agreements include a suspended $4.72 billion judgment against Leon, which remains contingent on his full cooperation and accurate financial disclosures. Beyond the financial penalties, the orders strictly prohibit the executives from misrepresenting financial products or mishandling consumer data in violation of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. While these civil matters are now closed, the broader legal fallout continues; former CEO Alex Mashinsky is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence following his 2025 conviction for commodities and securities fraud.
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