LAKE OSWEGO, Ore. (KATU) — Oregon Rep. Ed Diehl, R-Stayton, is once again urging the Oregon Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services to investigate reports of Medicaid fraud and mismanagement across the state.
His requisition comes three days after the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce sent a letter to Gov. Tina Kotek, D-Oregon, and ODHS Director Lisel Wendt, demanding information “related to program integrity and fraud, waste, and abuse (FWA)” in Oregon’s Medicaid program, also known as the Oregon Health Plan.
The letter was sent in response to recent investigations into Medicaid fraud in other states, including Minnesota. The committee informed Kotek and Wendt that they are examining Oregon’s Medicaid program, among other states, to rule out FWA.
The committee informed the governor and Wendt that they found “recent fraud investigations and…
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