The White House has formally sent Congress proposed legislation that would impose mandatory minimum sentences on those convicted of fraud involving federal benefit programs, according to a copy of it seen by Semafor.
The proposal, sent to House and Senate leadership on Sunday night, follows President Donald Trump’s call over the weekend for lawmakers to crack down on “fraud in Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security programs.”
The administration’s language would establish a range of mandatory minimum sentences based on the amount of loss involved in fraud schemes, according to the document. The proposal would also bar courts from placing those sentenced under the provision on probation or suspending their sentences.
People found responsible for less than $40,000 in losses would face at least one year in prison; those responsible for between $40,000 and $250,000 in losses would face at…
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