Alex Mashinsky, the founder and former CEO of the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network, pleaded not guilty to fraud charges in a New York federal court on Thursday. The 57-year-old was charged with seven criminal counts, including securities fraud, commodities fraud and wire fraud, according to an indictment unsealed that same day.

Prosecutors and federal regulators accused Mashinsky of deceiving customers and artificially inflating the value of his Hoboken, New Jersey-based company’s proprietary crypto token. He joins a growing list of crypto moguls facing fraud charges in the wake of a downturn in crypto prices that has decimated several industry companies, such as exchange giant FTX. Its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, has pleaded not guilty after being charged with fraud last year.

Mashinsky appeared in court wearing a gray polo shirt, jeans and no handcuffs. Judge Ona Wang released him on a $40 million bond backed by his Manhattan residence.

Hannah Lang of Washington, Luc Cohen and Chris Prentice of New York, Niket Nishant of Bengaluru, Elizabeth Howcroft of London, Chizu Nomiyama, Michelle Price and Jonathan Oatis reported this story. The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles underlie our coverage.