WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) is proud to recognize the following lawmakers as Fraud Fighters for their important work to combat fraud and scams – helping to protect Americans from criminals and financial hardship. This week, CBA Fraud Committee Chair and EverBank Senior Vice President Patrick McDade will also testify before Congress on how banks and lawmakers can work together to further combat fraudsters and scammers.
“Fraud has surged at an alarming rate, affecting American consumers’ ability to afford necessities and causing further emotional pain,” CBA President and CEO Lindsey Johnson said. “Banks spend billions of dollars and thousands of man hours each year working to protect consumers from fraud and scams. CBA has long called for federal action to protect consumers from fraud and scams, hosting roundtables with policy experts, and publishing…
THE HASHFLARE “CLOUD MINING” PONZI SCHEME (GLOBAL/ESTONIA)
Date: February 13, 2025 (Guilty Pleas) Perpetrators: Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turogin
Case Description: This $577 million cryptocurrency fraud remains one of the largest digital asset scams in history, with major legal developments concluding in 2025. Potapenko and Turogin operated “Hashflare,” which they marketed as a massive cryptocurrency mining operation. Hundreds of thousands of victims worldwide purchased “mining contracts,” believing they were renting hash power to mine Bitcoin. In reality, the duo was running a sophisticated Ponzi scheme.
They created fake customer dashboards that showed “real-time” mining profits, but the money being paid out was simply the capital of newer investors. They laundered the proceeds through shell companies to purchase luxury real estate and a fleet of high-end vehicles. After a massive international investigation involving the FBI and Estonian authorities, the pair agreed to forfeit over $400 million in assets. This case underscores the “Cyber-enabled Fraud” warning issued by the FATF in early 2026: as technology evolves, the scale of fraud moves from local millions to global billions in the blink of an eye.
Link to Original: ACFE – High Profile Fraud of 2025