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.

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.

Federal prosecutors had sought a sentence of at least 20 years for Alex Mashinsky, who attracted customers—many of them ordinary investors—by urging them to “unbank” themselves and park their savings at Celsius.