The post HashFlare founders dodge extra prison time appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

HashFlare founders Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turõgin avoided additional prison time after being given credit for time served in the $577M Ponzi scheme case. Seattle Federal Court Judge Robert Lasnik sentenced them to 16 months in prison, but they had already spent that time in custody following their 2022 indictment. However, Judge Lasnik ordered the defendants to pay a $25K fine each and complete 360 hours of community service under supervised release. The sentence also included the forfeiture of over $450M worth of real estate, cars, crypto, and crypto mining gear seized by the U.S. government and its foreign crime-busting partners. Details about the victim compensation remission process will be shared later, but the two will serve their supervised release back in Estonia. Potapenko and Turõgin had previously asked for time served, which was granted, but prosecutors feel a 10-year sentence would do better justice. The Department of Justice said on August 12 that it was also considering filing an appeal. Seattle prosecutors led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Friedman and Sok Jiang said this was the largest crypto fraud they had ever tried. They used this argument in court to push for the 10-year jail term they sought.    Miller says victims were hurt financially and emotionally Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Miller said “the vast majority” of victims in this case suffered losses that impacted them both financially and emotionally. The Ponzi scheme hurt unsuspecting customers who bought “a mirage of cryptocurrency mining” involving a non-existent “glitzy asset.” Miller felt it was wrong that the two used these millions of dollars to buy their own crypto, hire private jets, buy expensive jewelry, luxury cars, and real estate while their victims suffered. However, Judge Lasnik seemed to agree with Potapenko and Turõgin’s argument that the 440K customers did not suffer significant…

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Filed under: News - @ August 13, 2025 7:27 am