Hashflare Founders Receive Time Served for $577M Crypto Ponzi Scheme

The three individuals who established Hashflare, a cryptocurrency mining operation, have been sentenced to time served for their involvement in a $577 million Ponzi scheme. Sergei Potapenko, Ivan Turygin, and Mikhail Mironov pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. Hashflare purported to offer cloud-based cryptocurrency mining, but prosecutors argued it was, in reality, a Ponzi scheme, where funds from new investors were used to pay returns to earlier investors. According to court documents, the defendants garnered approximately $577 million from investors worldwide between 2015 and 2019. As part of their plea agreements, the three agreed to forfeit assets obtained through the scheme. These assets included cryptocurrency, real estate, and bank accounts. In addition to time served, the judge ordered the defendants to pay restitution to victims.