Source: Cointelegraph Original: "{title}"

A lawyer representing one of the co-founders of the cryptocurrency mining service company Hashflare has discussed how their criminal case may proceed after the couple received a "voluntary departure" letter from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

In documents submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington on April 11, Hashflare co-founders Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turogin stated that they received a letter from DHS requesting them to "leave the United States," which is part of the Trump administration's push for mass deportations. The government letter contradicts an order from Judge Robert Lasnik, who restricted Potapenko and Turogin's travel under their bail conditions.

The two Estonian nationals pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in February and reached an agreement with authorities. From 2015 to 2019, they were responsible for defrauding Hashflare users of over $550 million. They also raised $25 million from investors in 2017, claiming they would establish a digital bank called Polybius, which was never founded.

Potapenko and Turogin were indicted in October 2022, arrested in Estonia, and are set to be extradited to the U.S. in May 2024. Since July 2024, the two have been on bail but could face up to 20 years in prison each at sentencing.

Asked to leave but forced to stay

"Potapenko and Turogin each received a letter from DHS sent to their personal emails stating 'immediate deportation,' which caused some anxiety because [our client and his co-defendant's] bail conditions include that they must comply with the law," Mark Bini, a partner and defense attorney at Reed Smith, told Cointelegraph. "This distressed them because the letter said that if they remained in the U.S., they would be breaking the law. And, of course, their bail conditions state they cannot leave the Seattle area."

Reports indicate that DHS has sent letters requesting certain individuals to "immediately leave the United States" to thousands of immigrants who entered legally through the government's CBP One app. However, some citizens have reported receiving the same letters, which is part of President Trump's efforts to implement deportations through his office.

Bini initially thought the U.S. government might be suggesting that Potapenko or Turogin "voluntarily depart" back to Estonia after the Department of Justice issued a memorandum indicating a change in enforcement policy regarding criminal cases involving cryptocurrency. The Hashflare co-founders had originally expected to remain in the jurisdiction until their sentencing hearing on August 14.

"I have never encountered a situation where the federal government actually has two people telling you contradictory things," Bini said.

The lawyer added that Potapenko or Turogin now carries a letter stating that if authorities mistakenly attempt to detain them and deport them, DHS has postponed their "voluntary departure" action for one year. Although the couple may still face imprisonment, Potapenko, Turogin, and Hashflare have reported refunding $400 million in cryptocurrency payments to users and have "agreed to waive their rights to the assets frozen by the government in 2022."

"We will do our best to persuade the judge to candidly support DHS in allowing them to voluntarily depart back to Estonia to reunite with their families, as we believe Hashflare's customers have not suffered any actual financial loss," Bini said. "This is a strange case because for our clients, we want them to be deported. Our clients are Estonians, and their families are also in Estonia."

Related: DeFi Development Corp increases its stake in Solana (SOL) by $11.5 million, stock rises 12%

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