U.S. prosecutors request lenient sentences for former Celsius executives citing cooperation

On May 6, U.S. prosecutors recommended a lighter sentence for former Celsius executive Roni Cohen-Pavon for providing substantial cooperation. Cohen-Pavon, who served as chief revenue officer of bankrupt crypto lending platform Celsius, pleaded guilty in September 2023 to fraud and conspiracy to manipulate CEL token prices in connection with the multi-billion dollar losses caused by Celsius's collapse in 2022. In a letter filed in federal court for the Southern District of New York, U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton stressed that Cohen-Pavon was willing to testify against former CEO Alex Mashinsky, whose cooperation, if made public, would likely prompt Mashinsky to plead guilty early, and Mashinsky was sentenced to 12 years in prison in May 2025. Prosecutors did not propose a specific sentence, but instead asked the judge to refer to sentencing guidelines for "appropriate mitigation." Cohen-Pavon's lawyer requested that "his sentence has expired", saying that he had assumed full responsibility and that the sentencing hearing originally scheduled for May 7 had been postponed to May 13.