US prosecutors have appealed the sentence of time served to Hashflare co-founders, a crypto mining service and Ponzi’s $ 577 million methods.
Prosecutors told a Federal Seattle court on Tuesday that the government appealed to the sentences it had given earlier this month to Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turõgin at the Ninth Circuit.
Potapenko and Turõgin were in custody for 16 months in their native Estonia after their arrest in October 2022 and were being laid out in the US in May 2024, where they were Pleaded guilty in conspiracy to make wire fraud.
The government argued that the pair should get 10 years in prison, stating that the Hashflare method caused serious injuries to the victims and the most important fraud that the court had tried. Potapenko and Turõgin Argued for the time served.
On August 12, Seattle Court’s court Judge Robert Lasnik Pair was sent at the time servedA $ 25,000 fine and they were ordered to complete 360 hours of service in the community during the administered release, which is expected to be delivered to Estonia.
Blockchain investigators and companies have failed a lack of significant consequences and have lowered implementation actions against evil actors as major drivers for crypto crime, due to an detected lack of consequences for criminal acts.
Hashflare founders said the victims were paid
Prosecutors said that between 2015 and 2019, Hashflare’s sales were up to $ 577 million, and co-founders posted fake dashboards that incorrectly reported the company’s mining capacity and returning investors were making from the scheme.
Existing members has been paid with funds from newer customers, the government said “Ponzi has proven to be a classic method.”
The lawyers for Potapenko and Turõgin have argued that despite overstating Hashflare’s mining capacityCompany customers eventually received crypto worth more than their initial investment, especially from increasing crypto market prices since the scheme closed.
They also said the victims would be paid in full from more than $ 400 million worth of properties that lost part as part of the Potapenko and Turõgin deal in February. However, prosectors It is said that the data is made -CreateAnd these arguments are inaccurate.
Sleuth warns a lack of consequences for evil actors
Blockchain investigators Zachxbt and Taylor Monahan said in June that crypto court cases were abandoned by US regulators and A noticed the lack of significant consequences For evil actors who run scams help with fuel crime.
Cointelegraph experts said last month that, in some cases, Regulators sink from overreach To underreaction, with early actions implementing is often cruel; There is now a swing in another way, where there is little responsibility.
Related: The main player in the $ 13m crypto ponzi scheme is asking for a fault
Crypto crime losses struck a new note in the first half of 2025, defeating the previous record set in 2022 and almost Equal to total losses from all 2024.
Other Ponzi operators were imprisoned
Former rugby player Shane Donovan Moore was punished by two-and-a-half years behind the bars in July for Defense of more than 40 investors from $ 900,000 In a crypto mining ponzi scheme.
Dwayne Golden, meanwhile Punished by eight years in June For his role in a $ 40 million crypto ponzi scheme operated by three digital assets firms, Empowercoin, Ecoinplus, and Jet-Coin.
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