Alex Mashinsky, former CEO of Celsius, has filed a motion in a New York court to vacate his 12-year sentence, citing ineffective legal representation and challenging the evidence against him. Mashinsky claims his attorney stopped communicating, forcing him to represent himself. In his filing, he accuses former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried of attempting to "destroy Celsius" and manipulating the CEL token market. Additionally, Mashinsky alleges that former Celsius Chief Revenue Officer Roni Cohen-Pavon tried to initiate a hostile takeover of the company. Mashinsky was sentenced in 2025 for commodities and securities fraud, with financial penalties totaling $58 million.