Penalty Amount
$35,000,000
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a settlement with former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky over allegations that he misled investors about Celsius’s safety, users, and investment strategies, and failed to register as required under New York law. The settlement permanently bars Mashinsky from the securities, commodities, and cryptocurrency industries and provides for up to $35 million in payments to New York under specified conditions.
Mashinsky is permanently barred from doing business in the securities, commodities, and cryptocurrency industries. He must pay $25 million to New York if he fails to forfeit $10 million in ill-gotten gains to the federal government, and an additional $10 million if he does not serve his full prison sentence.
This action concerns alleged investment fraud rather than a privacy violation, so teams should review customer terms and marketing approvals for accurate, substantiated claims about platform safety, returns, users, and investment strategies. For digital-asset lending, custody, and other vendor agreements, check restrictions on use and onward lending of customer assets, risk disclosures, registration and licensing warranties, audit rights, loss reporting, and indemnification. Employee compliance policies and approval processes should also address who may make public claims about products and how those claims are reviewed.
Entity
Alex Mashinsky
Industry
Financial ServicesOfficial Press Release
https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2026/attorney-general-james-bans-former-cryptocurrency-ceo-who-defrauded-investors
new york v alex mashinsky stipulation 2026
https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/settlements-agreements/new-york-v-alex-mashinsky-stipulation-2026.pdf
New York Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://ag.ny.gov/press-releases
"Alex Mashinsky"
"up to $35 million from Alex Mashinsky"
"in violation of New York law"
"deceived investors about Celsius’s safety, number of users, and investment strategies"
"a permanent ban on his participation in the securities, commodities, and cryptocurrency industries"
$2.6M
New York and Connecticut reached a settlement with Boston Children’s Health Physicians and its IT security provider, XTIUM, after a 2024 breach exposed private information of approximately 825,000 New York residents and 62,871 Connecticut residents. The companies will pay $2.64 million and implement enhanced cybersecurity measures; additional penalties are conditional on violating the settlement.
New York Attorney General Letitia James joined 16 other attorneys general in urging Congress to pass proposed legislation addressing the federal government’s release of Jeffrey Epstein-related records. The press release says DOJ has not fully disclosed the records required by the original law and that personal information of at least 43 victims was exposed in released files; this is a legislative advocacy announcement, not an enforcement action imposing a penalty or remedy.
$1.9M
New York Attorney General Letitia James secured a settlement after an investigation found Dollar General stores routinely charged customers more than advertised or posted prices and issued confusing receipts. Dollar General must donate $1.875 million in food and personal items to Foodlink and implement pricing, receipt, training, and audit reforms.
New York Attorney General Letitia James released an updated guide warning voters that AI-generated election content and chatbots may provide misleading information. This is public guidance, not an enforcement action, and the release describes no penalty or privacy violation.
New York Attorney General Letitia James and a bipartisan coalition of 39 other attorneys general filed a motion in Character Technologies, Inc.’s bankruptcy, citing risks to children and sensitive user information and potential violations of state privacy laws. The coalition asks the court, the company, and any prospective buyer to require meaningful privacy and safety protections; no fine or final remedy is reported.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, the FTC, and six other state attorneys general asked a federal court to hold Martin Shkreli in contempt for allegedly trading pharmaceutical stocks and discussing pharmaceutical companies in violation of his lifetime industry ban. The requested sanctions include divestiture, an accounting of his trading, forfeiture of trading profits, and possible further fines or incarceration; the release describes a request to the court, not a new ruling imposing those measures.