Struggling lending platform Celsius wants to bring back former CFO Rod Bolger and pay him about $92,000 a month, prorated over a period of at least six weeks. The troubled lender says it needs Bolger to help it explore bankruptcy proceedings as a consultant, according to a motion filed in the Southern District of New York.
“Due to Mr. Bolger’s familiarity with the Debtors’ operations, the Debtors have requested, and Mr. Bolger has agreed pending Court approval, to continue to provide consulting and advisory services to the Debtors pursuant to an Advisory Agreement,” the filing states . “In consideration for Mr. Bolger’s consulting services, the Debtors agree to pay Mr. Bolger the amount of CAD $120,000 per month, prorated over a number of months.”
The proposal goes on to say that during Bolger’s tenure, he led efforts to stabilize the business during turbulent market volatility this year, guiding the financial aspects of the business and acting as the company’s leader. Ultimately, it is up to the Southern District of New York to decide whether to allow Bolger to integrate with Celsius. There is a Zoom hearing set for Monday, August 8, to consider the proposal.
Bolger, a former CFO for Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of America divisions, was previously with the company for five months before resigning on June 30, about three weeks after the platform halted all withdrawals, citing “extreme market conditions.” While he worked full-time with the company as chief financial officer, the move shows he had a base salary of $750,000 and a performance-based cash bonus of up to 75% of his base, in addition to stock and contract options, which bring the top of his total income range to about $1.3 million.
The company then installed Chris Ferraro, then head of financial planning, analysis and investor relations for Celsius, as CFO. Within days of his appointment, the company filed for bankruptcy.
Once a titan of the crypto-lending world, Celsius is in bankruptcy proceedings and facing allegations that it ran a Ponzi scheme by paying early depositors with money it took from new users.
At its peak in October 2021, CEO Alex Mashinsky said that The crypto lender had $25 billion in assets under management. Now, Celsius is down $167 million in “cash on hand,” which it says will provide “abundant liquidity” to support operations during the restructuring process. Celsius owes its users about $4.7 billion, according to her bankruptcy.
That filing also shows that Celsius has more than 100,000 creditors, some of whom lent the platform cash without any collateral to back the deal. Its list of top 50 unsecured creditors includes Sam Bankman-Fried’s trading firm Alameda Research, as well as a Cayman Islands-based investment firm.
Retail investors have petitioned the judge to help them recover some of their lost holdings, with some saying their life savings have been effectively wiped out.
A CPA and Celsius investor with a large balance trapped on the Celsius platform filed an appeal on Tuesday to challenge Celsius’ proposal to reinstate the former CFO.