hashflare

ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, U.S. federal prosecutors have submitted a request to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals seeking to overturn the lenient sentence of the main perpetrators in the HashFlare cryptocurrency fraud case. Estonian citizens Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turõgin are accused of defrauding 440,000 investors worldwide through a $577 million Ponzi scheme, with prosecutors arguing that the original sentence was "exceptionally lenient."The two defendants have pleaded guilty, admitting to committing fraud through false mining contracts from 2015 to 2019, misleading investors with fake profit dashboards, and using the proceeds of the fraud to purchase luxury goods and pay returns to early investors. The original judge sentenced them to only three years of supervised release and a $25,000 fine each, while prosecutors had requested a 10-year prison sentence.The judge considered factors such as the risk of "indefinite detention" that foreign defendants might face in the U.S. Legal experts analyze that the reasoning for the sentence, based on "time served, immigration risks, and compensation considerations," is reasonable, and the Ninth Circuit usually respects the discretion of district judges, making it likely that the original sentence will be upheld.Currently, $400 million has been seized for victim compensation, and this case is referred to as the "largest fraud case" in the history of the Western District of Washington.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, U.S. prosecutors have appealed the sentencing of HashFlare co-founders regarding their prison terms.Prosecutors believe that HashFlare founders Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turõgin should be sentenced to 10 years in prison and have filed an appeal on this matter. HashFlare is a $577 million Ponzi scheme company. On August 12, U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik sentenced the two to time served, a fine of $25,000, and required them to complete 360 hours of community service during supervised release, with their prison terms expected to be served in Estonia.The two were arrested in October 2022 and were detained in their home country of Estonia for 16 months before being extradited to the U.S. in May 2024, where they pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit telecommunications fraud.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, the co-founders of the defunct cryptocurrency mining service HashFlare, Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turõgin, have requested a U.S. court to waive additional imprisonment after admitting to telecom fraud. The two are accused of orchestrating a $577 million Ponzi scheme, resulting in approximately $300 million in losses.Prosecutors argue that both should be sentenced to 10 years in prison, stating that their crimes are among the largest fraud cases being tried in court. However, Potapenko and Turõgin contend that they have cooperated with the investigation and have served 16 months in prison in Estonia, and that their sentences should not be excessively long.The two were arrested in Estonia in November 2022 and are set to be extradited to the U.S. in May 2024. They are currently out on bail, with a sentencing hearing scheduled for August 14.

ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, the Estonian co-founders of the cryptocurrency mining company HashFlare, Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turõgin, received a notification from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) demanding that they "immediately" leave the United States or face enforcement action.This directive directly conflicts with a court order requiring them to remain in King County, Washington. The two pleaded guilty in February this year, admitting to fraud through false cryptocurrency mining contracts and agreeing to forfeit approximately $400 million in assets.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, cryptocurrency mining service provider HashFlare co-founders Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turogin pleaded guilty on February 12 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. The two admitted to a conspiracy to commit telecommunications fraud involving more than $550 million.As part of the plea agreement, the two agreed to forfeit all digital assets frozen by U.S. authorities. Sentencing is scheduled for May 8, and the two could face up to 20 years in prison.

ChainCatcher news, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Estonian citizens Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turõgin appeared in court for the first time yesterday on charges of cryptocurrency fraud. The Western District of Washington previously accused them of operating a fraudulent cryptocurrency mining service, HashFlare, from 2015 to 2019, deceiving hundreds of thousands of victims into investing over $550 million, but the promised mining shares were never delivered. In May 2017, Potapenko and Turõgin raised at least $25 million through investments in Polybius, claiming they would establish a virtual currency bank. Although Polybius promised to distribute dividends from its profits, the bank was never established, and most of the funds were allegedly transferred to accounts controlled by the defendants.The DOJ further alleged that the two laundered money through shell companies, fake contracts, and invoices, used to purchase 75 properties, six luxury cars, cryptocurrency wallets, and thousands of mining machines. They face charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 16 counts of wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, with a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each charge.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, two founders of the now-defunct cloud mining company Hashflare have been arrested in Estonia, accused of involvement in cryptocurrency fraud and money laundering, with an amount involved reaching $575 million. It is reported that HashFlare was established in 2015, claiming to allow customers to lease the company's hash power to mine cryptocurrencies and receive a proportional share of the profits. In July 2018, Hashflare announced that it was forced to terminate all Bitcoin mining contracts due to unprofitability.According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice citing court documents, the mining operations run by Hashflare founders Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turõgin "defrauded hundreds of thousands of victims," including persuading victims to sign "fraudulent equipment leasing contracts" through HashFlare, as well as convincing other victims to invest in a fake virtual currency bank called Polybius bank. (Cointelegraph)