US seeks $1M forfeiture from former Celsius executive

Former Celsius Network chief revenue officer Roni Cohen-Pavon agreed to forfeit more than $1 million to US authorities ahead of his sentencing hearing tied to fraud and market manipulation charges.

A filing from US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton said Cohen-Pavon consented to a $1.07 million judgment representing proceeds connected to crimes involving manipulation of Celsius’s CEL token.

Cohen-Pavon pleaded guilty in September 2023 to fraud and conspiracy to commit price manipulation after prosecutors accused him of participating in efforts to artificially support the value of the CEL token.

Federal prosecutors did not recommend a specific prison sentence but asked the court to consider sentencing reductions linked to Cohen-Pavon’s cooperation with authorities during investigations tied to Celsius and former chief executive Alex Mashinsky.

“I pleaded guilty because I am guilty,”

Cohen-Pavon wrote in a letter to Judge John Koeltl, adding that he took “full responsibility” for participating in manipulation of the CEL token.

The collapse of Celsius in 2022 became one of the crypto industry’s largest failures during the broader market downturn that also contributed to the collapse of the FTX exchange later that year.

Mashinsky was sentenced to 12 years in prison in May 2025 after pleading guilty to securities and commodities fraud, while former FTX chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried continues appealing his conviction and 25-year prison sentence tied to the collapse of FTX.