Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turogin, co-founders of the crypto mining service HashFlare, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a US District Court. In the hearing on February 12, 2025, they admitted to operating HashFlare as a Ponzi scheme, defrauding users of over $550 million from 2015 to 2019, including raising $25 million purportedly for a digital bank that was never established. Following their arrest in Estonia in 2022 and extradition to the US in May 2024, both defendants have been free on bail but face up to 20 years in prison after their sentencing in May 2025. As part of their plea deal, they agreed to forfeit frozen assets and assist in ensuring no further financial harm comes to users. Potapenko and Turogin have reportedly already returned $350 million in crypto payments to users.

Source đź”—