Two Celsius co-founders have agreed to pay a combined $6.5 million to resolve Federal Trade Commission claims connected to the failed crypto lender. Under separate court orders, Shlomi Daniel Leon will pay $4.1 million and Hanoch “Nuke” Goldstein will pay $2.4 million.
The FTC said the executives misled customers about the safety, availability and management of assets deposited with Celsius. The new settlements close the agency’s cases against Leon and Goldstein and add to an earlier agreement reached with former chief executive Alex Mashinsky.
Separate orders for Leon and Goldstein
The settlement terms divide the financial penalties between the two former executives. Leon, who served as Celsius’ chief strategy officer, is set to pay $4.1 million, while Goldstein, the company’s former chief technology officer, will pay $2.4 million.
According to the FTC, the agreements resolve its fraud-related claims against both men. Combined with Mashinsky’s $10 million settlement in April, the three co-founders are now set to pay a total of $16.5 million under their respective deals.
FTC allegations centered on customer representations
The agency’s case focused on how Celsius presented its platform to users. The FTC accused the co-founders of misleading customers about how safe their deposits were, whether their assets would be available, and how those funds were being managed.
The settlement does not change the core allegations laid out by the regulator, but it does end the FTC’s cases against Leon and Goldstein on the terms set out in the court orders.
Additional restrictions and suspended judgment
Leon’s order includes more than the immediate payment. He must also comply with a $4.72 billion judgment, though most of that amount is suspended as long as he satisfies the settlement terms and provides accurate financial disclosures to the FTC.
Goldstein’s order places limits on future business activity. The restrictions include bans tied to retail crypto products involving deposits, exchanges and withdrawals.
What the orders prohibit next
Both settlements bar the executives from making false statements about products or services. They also limit the sharing of consumers’ nonpublic information, adding consumer-data restrictions alongside the financial penalties.
The latest orders follow Mashinsky’s April agreement and mark the FTC’s next confirmed step in its action over Celsius. With the agency’s cases against Leon and Goldstein now settled, the terms on payments, conduct and disclosure obligations become the key enforceable outcomes described in the orders.
Source: crypto.news