A company that is changing the way the world mines bitcoin

Coinpaprika 2025-02-13 07:45:23

HashFlare Co-Founders Plead Guilty in $575M Fraud Case

Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turõgin admitted guilt in a wire fraud conspiracy, dodging nearly 20 other charges. In a surprising turn, prosecutors weakened their own case by overestimating claims and discrediting a key witness. The two have agreed to forfeit assets and assist in reimbursing victims, though their sentencing remains uncertain. HashFlare was once seen as a respected cloud mining business, but things unraveled in 2022 when Potapenko and Turõgin were arrested for defrauding investors of $575 million. Following a long legal battle, they pleaded guilty today. "As Ivan admitted, their business did mine crypto, but not as much as promised. Sometimes, instead of real mining profits, they repaid users with crypto bought from the market. However, no customer has suffered actual harm," their defense lawyer stated. While they accepted guilt, they tried to emphasize that the damage was limited. HashFlare lured users with the promise of mining cryptocurrency from home, but it never had enough resources to deliver. Instead, customer funds were used to buy assets, which were falsely presented as mining earnings. According to the FBI , this fraudulent scheme ran from 2015 to 2018, when HashFlare invoked a clause allowing it to shut down after 28 days of unprofitability. The bulk of user funds went to their own enrichment. However, in their guilty plea, the founders expressed regret and a willingness to pay back victims. They agreed to surrender frozen assets, including luxury cars and real estate, and to provide customer data to aid reimbursement. Despite this, their guilty plea might not be enough to significantly reduce their sentence. The prosecution made major mistakes in its handling of the case. The Department of Justice (DoJ) initially accused them of moving $95 million in crypto after their arrest, arguing that this showed they had lied to pretrial services and couldn’t be trusted. However, federal prosecutors' key witness lost credibility, weakening the case. One of the most serious missteps was an overstatement of damages by $225 million . This led to rushed negotiations to salvage some form of justice. Ultimately, the two executives pleaded guilty to a single charge while nearly 20 others were dropped. Their final sentence is still unknown, but the situation could have been far worse for them.

Наиболее читаемые новости

Coinbase Sparks Interest with New Altcoin Lis...
2025-02-13
Speculation on Fed Rate Cut Increases as Inte...
2025-02-13
Bitcoin Price Analysis: BTC Stumbles After Hi...
2025-02-13
Breaking: Bitcoin Price Soars Despite US PPI...
2025-02-13
Dogecoin Millionaire Bets on This Unknown Cry...
2025-02-13
U.S. States Push for Bitcoin Reserves Could T...
2025-02-13
Sharing Exciting News: CZ Set to Post Dog Pic...
2025-02-13
Top 4 Liquid Staking Platforms in 2025
2025-02-13

Связанные новости

Прочтите Отказ от ответственности : Весь контент, представленный на нашем сайте, гиперссылки, связанные приложения, форумы, блоги, учетные записи социальных сетей и другие платформы («Сайт») предназначен только для вашей общей информации, приобретенной у сторонних источников. Мы не предоставляем никаких гарантий в отношении нашего контента, включая, но не ограничиваясь, точность и обновление. Никакая часть содержания, которое мы предоставляем, представляет собой финансовый совет, юридическую консультацию или любую другую форму совета, предназначенную для вашей конкретной опоры для любых целей. Любое использование или доверие к нашему контенту осуществляется исключительно на свой страх и риск. Вы должны провести собственное исследование, просмотреть, проанализировать и проверить наш контент, прежде чем полагаться на них. Торговля - очень рискованная деятельность, которая может привести к серьезным потерям, поэтому проконсультируйтесь с вашим финансовым консультантом, прежде чем принимать какие-либо решения. Никакое содержание на нашем Сайте не предназначено для запроса или предложения