Two Estonian men, Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turõgin, were sentenced to 16 months in prison for orchestrating HashFlare, a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors out of $577 million. The men promised returns from crypto mining but failed to deliver, instead providing fictitious profits through fake online dashboards. Their operations lasted from 2015 to 2019, during which they misused investor funds to purchase luxury items including real estate and high-end vehicles. Prosecutors sought a 10-year sentence, indicating the impact of the scam on victims, which led to widespread financial distress. Over $450 million in assets were seized to compensate victims, and authorities have set up a claims process for those affected. Additionally, both defendants will be deported back to Estonia to serve supervised release following their prison terms. The U.S. Department of Justice is considering whether to appeal the leniency of the sentence.

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