Estonians plead guilty to US charges in $577 mn crypto scheme / Photo: © AFP/File
-
Brighton sign Croatia defender Veskovic for record fee
-
France flaunts firepower, unity with allies in huge parade
-
US inflation cools in June before renewed Mideast fighting
-
Ticking time bomb? Europe's ageing population brings challenges
-
India spark collapse before Root leads England to 258 in 1st ODI
-
Oil gains on fresh attacks, dollar slides as inflation slows
-
Dua Lipa backs Albanian protests against Trump-linked resort
-
Fire ravages popular forest outside Paris
-
Dangote's mega oil project threatens fragile Kenyan ecosystem: Greenpeace
-
US consumer inflation cools in June on lower energy costs
-
Rose says there's still time to realise British Open dream
-
Israel says ready to move on pilot zones amid new Lebanon talks
-
Ukraine PM resigns in Zelensky-ordered reshuffle
-
Croatia ex-international Simic held in graft case: report
-
Glasner warns 'no button to press' for Forest success
-
SCANDIC TRADE & SNC SCANDIC COIN:
AI Meets Non-Custodial Trading
-
Swiss probe Google dropping search choice on Android phones
-
France and Spain clash in World Cup semi-final
-
MEXC Reports 7.1 Billion USDT in SpaceX Futures Volume as Q2 Closes the Gap to Wall Street
-
Knight wants England women to play more red-ball cricket after India loss
-
DR Congo health workers on Ebola front line threaten strike
-
Oil extends gains after fresh US strikes
-
Turn off addictive features on social media for children, say EU lawmakers
-
EU population to peak in 2029 before long-term decline
-
Bumrah returns for India as England bat in 1st ODI
-
Fire ravages historic forest outside Paris
-
US strikes Iran, vows to reimpose naval blockade
-
57 gored or bruised during Spain's San Fermin bull runs
-
Oil extends gains after fresh US strikes, stocks mostly rise
-
Wildfires advance in forest south of Paris
-
Families claim bodies as Bangkok fire toll rises to 30
-
Ukrainian men in Poland face legal limbo
-
Egg-free school meals scramble politics in India
-
Wildlife rescuers help birds survive Pakistan's hotter summers
-
US strikes Iran for third day, will reimpose blockade
-
Messi meets England at last with World Cup final place on the line
-
Italy's Cannone gets four-match ban for red card against All Blacks
-
Oil extends gains after latest US strikes, tech suffers more losses
-
Co-star says Sam Neill battled pneumonia before death
-
Young Australian men falling victim to online sexual extortion: regulator
-
Armenian apricots become geopolitical battleground with Russia
-
New era for Gibraltar as border controls with Spain set to end
-
Jay-Z pays tribute to NY hometown crowd and his 30-year legacy
-
England face might of Messi's Argentina in World Cup semi-final
-
Birthday boy Yamal stands by 'no fear' comment ahead of France clash
-
Spain to go on 'front foot' against France in World Cup semi: De la Fuente
-
U.S. Polo Assn. Returns to 2026 DMMI Royal Charity Polo Cup as Official Apparel and Team Sponsor
-
Trump slashes two Utah protected areas by more than 90%
-
US strikes Iran for third night as Trump says deal still 'possible'
-
Spain 'favourites' says Deschamps ahead of World Cup semi-final showdown
Estonians plead guilty to US charges in $577 mn crypto scheme
Two Estonian nationals have pleaded guilty to defrauding hundreds of thousands of people around the world in a $577 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, the Justice Department said Thursday.
Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turogin, both age 40, were extradited from Estonia to the United States last year to face charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
As part of their guilty pleas, the two agreed to forfeit assets valued at more than $400 million, the Justice Department said in a statement.
Sentencing by a US district court in Seattle, Washington was set for May 8. They face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Potapenko and Turogin were arrested in 2022 in a joint operation by Estonian police and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Estonia's supreme court, after a nearly two-year legal battle, agreed last year to send the pair to the United States.
According to court documents, Potapenko and Turogin sold contracts entitling customers to a share of the digital assets mined by HashFlare, their cryptocurrency mining service.
HashFlare's sales totaled more than $577 million between 2015 and 2019 but the company did not actually have the computing capacity needed to perform the vast crypto mining it purported to perform.
A web-based dashboard alleging to show mining profits displayed falsified data and Potapenko and Turogin were unable to pay investors when they asked to withdraw their mining proceeds.
O.Krause--BTB
