A lawyer representing Hashflare co-founders Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turogin addressed their legal situation following the issuance of 'self-deport' letters from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). After pleading guilty to wire fraud, Potapenko and Turogin were instructed by DHS to leave the U.S. immediately, which conflicted with a court order restricting their travel. The pair had fraudulently obtained over $550 million from Hashflare users between 2015 and 2019, and were indicted in October 2022 before being arrested in Estonia. Although they returned $400 million to users, they face up to 20 years in prison. Their attorney aims to convince the judge to allow them to self-deport back to Estonia, claiming there was no actual financial harm to Hashflare customers. The situation is complicated by conflicting directives from federal authorities regarding their immigration status, with the co-founders currently required to stay in Washington state until their sentencing hearings.

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