The founder and former CEO of the cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after a prosecutor labeled him a predator who “preyed on hope” by enticing vulnerable customers to risk their life savings for a supposedly safe investment.

The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton announced Thursday that Alexander Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of the Celsius cryptocurrency platform and Bitcoin mining company,

Alex Mashinsky, the founder and former chief executive of bankruptcy cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network, was sentenced on Thursday to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty in December to securities fraud and commodities fraud.