Ex-CEO of Celsius, Alex Mashinsky is hoping to clear two charges from his impending trial taking place in September 2024. His attorneys have pushed for dismissal of allegations associated with commodities fraud and market manipulation.

The motion was filed on 12th January in the Southern District Court of New York. The defense argues counter to the second count of commodities fraud, characterizing it as discordant with the initial count of securities fraud due to the government’s approach to cryptocurrencies.

The attorneys stated that it is contradictory to classify the Earn Program as both a security and commodity. They argued that the government could not stand on both sides of the argument, hence they are petitioning for the dismissal of one of the charges.

Additionally, Mashinsky’s counsel contends that the market manipulation charge, the sixth count, should be dropped due to “lack of fair notice” as they believe it represents a criminal penalty for what is essentially a civil offense. They also requested that any data relating to Celsius’ bankruptcy be omitted from the case.

In 2022, Celsius along with several other crypto companies such as BlockFi and FTX filed for bankruptcy due to a decrease in market performance. Mashinsky resigned from his position as CEO in the same year and later in July 2023, faced indictment on seven counts of felony charges which consisted of securities fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit fraud.

Presently, Mashinsky is out on a $40-million bail. Another well-known figure in the crypto world, Sam Bankman-Fried, the ex-CEO of FTX, was found guilty of seven felony charges in November 2023 and is awaiting sentencing. In the meantime, Changpeng Zhao, the previous Binance CEO, pleaded guilty to a single count of felony as part of an agreement with the U.S. authorities and is confined to the U.S until his sentencing next month.