The courtroom submitting contends that the federal government’s dealing with of cryptocurrencies creates an inconsistency and contradiction between the second rely of commodities fraud and the primary rely of securities fraud.
Authorized representatives for former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky have filed a movement in federal courtroom searching for the dismissal of expenses associated to commodities fraud and market manipulation.
The movement, filed on January 12 in the US District Court docket for the Southern District of New York, urges the decide to drop two felony counts anticipated to be introduced towards Mashinsky at his trial in September 2024.
The submitting argues that the second rely of commodities fraud is “repugnant” and “inconsistent” with the primary rely of securities fraud, notably within the authorities’s remedy of cryptocurrencies. The protection contends that it’s illogical to view Celsius’s Earn Program as each a safety and a commodity concurrently, urging the courtroom to dismiss one of many counts. The official submitting notes:
“It is inconsistent and illogical to view the Earn Program as a security for purposes of Count One, and a commodity for purposes of Count Two. It is not clear if the government intends to argue that Celsius’s Earn Program constituted the purchase of a security and the sale of a commodity at the same time […] the government cannot have it both ways and the appropriate remedy is dismissal of one of the counts.”
Attorneys Demand Elimination of Market Manipulation Fees
Moreover, Mashinsky’s authorized crew has put ahead arguments for the dismissal of rely six, which pertains to market manipulation, citing “lack of fair notice”. They contend that the US authorities has primarily “invented” a felony offense that in any other case stands as a civil violation.
Alongside searching for the dismissal of two out of the seven felony expenses dealing with the previous CEO, the protection has additionally requested the exclusion of data associated to the Celsius chapter from the case. The submitting notes:
“References to Celsius’s bankruptcy should be stricken from the Indictment. For the same reasons, the government should be precluded from introducing evidence of the Celsius bankruptcy during trial.”
