Former Celsius executive Roni Cohen-Pavon has been sentenced to time served by a U.S. federal judge nearly three years after authorities charged him in connection with the crypto lender’s collapse and manipulation of its CEL token.
Summary
- Roni Cohen Pavon received a sentence of time served after cooperating with prosecutors in the Celsius fraud case.
- Federal prosecutors said his assistance helped advance the criminal case against former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky.
- Mashinsky remains in prison under a 12-year sentence tied to fraud charges linked to Celsius’s 2022 collapse.
According to proceedings held Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge John Koeltl also ordered one year of supervised release for the former Celsius chief revenue officer after his guilty plea to fraud and conspiracy charges tied to the platform’s operations.
Court records show Cohen-Pavon originally pleaded not guilty after his September 2023 arrest before reversing course days later and cooperating with prosecutors in the government’s case against Celsius founder Alex Mashinsky.
Federal prosecutors had already urged the court earlier this month to consider a reduced sentence. In a May 6 filing, U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton stated that Cohen-Pavon provided “substantial assistance” during the investigation, including preparations to testify against Mashinsky before the former CEO eventually pleaded guilty ahead of trial.
At the center of the case were allegations that Mashinsky and Cohen-Pavon worked together to inflate the value of Celsius’s CEL token while presenting the asset to users as a stable investment. Prosecutors tied the conduct to billions of dollars in customer losses that surfaced after Celsius froze withdrawals and entered bankruptcy proceedings in July 2022.
Cooperation credited in sentencing outcome
In their submission to the court, prosecutors said Cohen-Pavon’s cooperation became public shortly after his guilty plea, a development they believed influenced Mashinsky’s later decision to admit guilt in the criminal case.
Defense lawyers separately requested a sentence of time served, arguing that Cohen-Pavon had accepted responsibility and acknowledged the damage caused to Celsius users and investors.
Before sentencing, Cohen-Pavon told Judge Koeltl in a personal letter that his responsibility extended beyond the court proceedings.
“Whatever sentence the Court imposes, the deeper obligation will remain the same,” Cohen-Pavon wrote. “I will have to spend the rest of my life becoming, through my conduct, the husband, father, and man my family had every right to expect from me all along.”
Although Cohen-Pavon lived in Israel when prosecutors filed the indictment in July 2023, he later returned to the United States for arraignment proceedings. Court filings show he secured release on a $500,000 bond and remained free to travel under certain conditions while the case moved forward.
Financial penalties imposed in the Celsius cases have also continued to grow. Mashinsky, who received a 12-year prison sentence in May 2025 after pleading guilty to commodities fraud and securities fraud, was ordered to forfeit $48 million as part of his criminal case. Cohen-Pavon separately agreed to pay more than $1 million and an additional $40,000 fine.
Elsewhere in the regulatory fallout tied to Celsius, the Federal Trade Commission reached a settlement with Mashinsky in April 2026 that permanently bars him from promoting or offering asset-related services. Court documents filed in the Southern District of New York showed the agreement carried a $4.72 billion judgment, though most of the amount remains suspended as long as Mashinsky complies with disclosure requirements and payment conditions tied to the Department of Justice forfeiture process.
