Disgraced crypto entrepreneur Alex Mashinsky, who co-founded the now-bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network, said in a recent court filing the firm's downfall was caused by a "series of calamitous, external events."
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Mashinsky's lawyers added the New York State Attorney General focused all resulting losses on the "alleged misstatements on Mashinsky alone." In the defense motion, Mashinsky's lawyers said the New York regulator "cynically cherry picks fragments of statements and sound bites" in its suit, adding that the regulator depicted Celsius's "exceptional transparencies with its users as a deceptive tactic."
The filing also states the complaint filed by the NYAG demonstrates a "fundamental misunderstanding of Celsius's business, and Mashinsky’s role therein."
In January, the New York State Attorney General's office accused Alex Mashinky of "defrauding hundreds of thousands of investors out of billions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency." Attorney General James added that Mashinsky led investors down a path of "financial ruin."
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