Another Crypto Fraud Gone Very Wrong
The crypto-verse is known to attract many individuals hoping to earn a quick buck, often using illegal means. While some manage, others don’t.
Estonian citizens Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turygin (Turõgin) once had a plan. But like many plans it did not exactly go to itself, and it took almost a decade for law enforcement to catch them.
The story dates back to 2013 when Potapenko, Turygin, and their accomplices started a company called HashCoins.
It claimed it built cryptocurrency mining equipment. According to its Wikipedia page, which is still up, HashCoins “is an Estonian company manufacturing ASIC-based cryptocurrency mining equipment, with the goal of providing the average investor with the ability to participate in the digital currency economy.”
In the description section, it is indicated that at least six individuals operate it, with the team purportedly responsible for the development of a web-interface for mining remote administration Their experts have completely redesigned the management interface, fixed bugs and added some new features
However, by 2015 it had become clear that something is off. In particular, HashCoins had customers who were unhappy that they hadn’t received the mining equipment they’d purchased.
Still, the company continued to operate, with the two creating HashFlare that didn’t require a physical machine. In other words, cloud mining did in fact mine some crypto. However, not to the extent it originally claimed.
Furthermore, HashCoins continued to receive Google Reviews, though of different kinds. Mainly, of negative nature.
One user, called Imad Samara, even tried defending it, saying “so far, so good” and that all those negative comments “seem to be fake accounts made up by competitors.”
A review of HashCoin. Source: Google Reviews
Yet, Potapenko and Turygin did not manage to get away with their scheme.
In 2022, both were arrested and accused of defrauding thousands of people out of around $575 million with a crypto Ponzi scheme. The US Department of Justice that indicted them with fraud said that the case, which they claim was probed by the FBI, involved at least 75 real properties, six luxury vehicles and cryptocurrency wallets.
However, it does not appear that they will be trialled in Estonia. This week, Tallinn agreed to extradite the two to the US. They’re facing 20 years of imprisonment.
Estonian PM Kaja Kallas commented on the matter. According to her, Potapenko and Turygin can still file an appeal to prevent the authorities from sending them to America.
Potapenko and Turygin are among the many crypto-related figures facing grave charges in the US. FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried was also extradited to the US last year after trying to hide in The Bahamas.
Previously, Gagarin News reported that four founders of Forsage, a purportedly decentralized finance (DeFi) cryptocurrency investment platform, have been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
