Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turogin, co-founders of the crypto mining service HashFlare, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud during a recent court hearing. They faced 18 charges related to operating HashFlare as a Ponzi scheme, defrauding users of over $550 million between 2015 and 2019 while also attempting to raise $25 million for a non-existent digital bank called Polybius. As part of their plea deal, both defendants agreed to forfeit their interests in frozen assets and assist in ensuring that users experience no financial harm. They have reportedly returned $350 million in crypto payments to users prior to the court case. Arrested by Estonian authorities in 2022 and extradited to the US in 2024, they have been free on bail since July 2024 but face potential sentences of up to 20 years in prison at their upcoming hearing on May 8, 2025.

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