Estonian Nationals Admit Guilt in $577M Crypto Ponzi Scheme

The HashFlare co-founders face up to 20 years in prison after deceiving investors and laundering millions through luxury assets.

Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turõgin, co-founders of HashFlare, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a $577 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme.
The scheme involved selling fraudulent crypto mining contracts and falsifying data to mislead investors about mining profits from 2015 to 2019.
The defendants agreed to forfeit over $400 million in assets, including real estate, luxury vehicles, and cryptocurrency accounts, to compensate victims.
Investigations revealed that less than 1% of the promised mining capacity existed, and payouts were often made using crypto purchased on the open market.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 8, 2025, in Seattle, with each defendant facing a potential maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.