Troubled lending platform Celsius wants to bring back former Chief Financial Officer Rod Bolger and pay him a prorated monthly payment of about $92,000 for at least six weeks. The troubled lender said it needed Bolger as an adviser to help it navigate bankruptcy proceedings, According to the motion Submitted to the Southern District of New York.
“Because Mr. Bolger is familiar with the debtor’s business, the debtor has requested that Mr. Bolger has agreed to continue to provide counsel and advisory services to the debtor under a consulting agreement pending court approval,” the filing reads. “Considering Mr. Bolger’s advisory services, the debtor agrees to pay Mr. Bolger $120,000 per month, prorated for portions of the month.”
The motion went on to say that during Bolger’s tenure, he led efforts to stabilize the business during this year’s turbulent market volatility, steered the financial side of the business and served as a leader of the company. Ultimately, it’s up to the Southern District of New York to allow Bolger to work with Celsius. A Zoom hearing will be held on Monday, August 8 to consider the motion.
Bolger Former CFO of Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of America, who previously worked at the company for five months before resigning on June 30, about three weeks after the platform suspended all withdrawals, citing “extreme market conditions.” While he works full-time as the company’s chief financial officer, the motion shows him a base salary of $750,000, excluding stock and token options, and a performance-based cash bonus of up to 75%, making the highest of his total The revenue range is around $1.3 million.
The company then named Chris Ferraro, then Celsius’ head of financial planning, analysis and investor relations, to the role of chief financial officer. Within days of his appointment, the company filed for bankruptcy.
Once a giant in the crypto lending world, Celsius is in bankruptcy proceedings and faces claims it is running a Ponzi scheme by paying early depositors with money it received from new users.
At its peak in October 2021, CEO Alex Mashinsky said, Crypto lender manages $25 billion in assets. Now, Celsius drops to $167 million in “cash on hand” It said this would provide “sufficient liquidity” to support operations during the restructuring process. Celsius owes its users about $4.7 billion, According to its bankruptcy filing.
The filing also shows that Celsius has more than 100,000 creditors, some of whom lent the platform cash to back the arrangement without any collateral. Its list of top 50 unsecured creditors includes Sam Bankman-Fried’s trading firm, Alameda Research, and a Cayman Islands-based investment firm.
Retail investors have petitioned judges to help them recover some of their lost assets, with some saying their life savings has effectively been spent.
A CPA and Celsius investor with a large balance stuck on Celsius platform objection tuesday Challenge Celsius’ motion to reinstate its former chief financial officer.
