Feds Mistakenly Order Estonian HashFlare Fraudsters to Self-Deport Ahead of Sentencing

Ivan Turogin and Sergei Potapenko ran a crypto mining Ponzi strategy that defrauded investors astir the satellite of much than $575 million.

Updated Apr 18, 2025, 7:56 p.m. Published Apr 18, 2025, 7:42 p.m.

Just 4 months up of their transgression sentencing for operating a $577 cardinal cryptocurrency mining Ponzi scheme, the 2 Estonian founders of HashFlare were seemingly mistakenly ordered to self-deport by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) — an acquisition that straight contradicted a tribunal bid for the men to stay successful Washington authorities until they are sentenced successful August.

In a associated letter to the tribunal past week, lawyers for Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turogin told District Judge Robert Lasnik of the Western District of Washington that some men had received “disturbing communications” from DHS ordering them to permission the state immediately.

“It is clip for you to permission the United States,” an email to Potapenko and Turogin dated April 11 read. “DHS is terminating your parole. Do not effort to stay successful the United States - the national authorities volition find you. Please depart the United States immediately.”

The email, included with the missive filed past week, threatened some men with “criminal prosecution, civilian fines, and penalties and immoderate different lawful options disposable to the national government” if they stayed successful the country. It resembles emails that undocumented immigrants and U.S. citizens alike person received implicit the past fewer days.

Ironically, Potapenko and Turogin are not successful the U.S. of their ain volition — they were extradited from their autochthonal Estonia astatine the petition of the U.S. Department of Justice successful 2022 connected an 18-count indictment tied to their HashFlare scheme. Though they initially pleaded not blameworthy to each charges, in February they some pleaded guilty to 1 number of conspiracy to perpetrate ligament fraud, which carries a maximum condemnation of 20 years successful prison, and agreed to forfeit implicit $400 cardinal successful assets. They person some been successful the Seattle country connected enslaved since past July.

“Although determination is thing Ivan and Sergei would privation much than to instantly spell home, they understood that they are besides nether Court bid to stay successful King County,” wrote Mark Bini, a spouse astatine Reed Smith LLP and pb counsel for Potenko, wrote successful the pair’s associated missive to the court. Bini did not respond to CoinDesk’s petition for comment.

In his letter, Bini said DHS’s emails had caused some Potapenko and Turogin "significant anxiety.”

“We and our clients person each seen caller news. Immigration authorities marque mistakes, and individuals who should not beryllium successful custody extremity up successful custody, sometimes adjacent deported to places wherever they should not beryllium deported,” Bini wrote.

Six days aft Bini’s missive to the judge, the DOJ filed its ain missive with the tribunal saying that prosecutors had coordinated with DHS’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) part and secured a year-long deferral to the self-deportation order.

“This should supply ample clip for the sentencing to instrumentality place,” the prosecution’s missive said.

DHS did not respond to CoinDesk’s petition for comment.

Potapenko and Turogin are slated to beryllium sentenced connected August 14 successful Seattle. Their lawyers person said that they volition petition to beryllium sentenced to clip served, meaning nary further clip successful prison, and to beryllium sent location to Estonia “immediately.”

Cheyenne Ligon