MADISON, Wis. (Civic Media) – The Wisconsin Elections Commission is recommending that Racine County prosecutors file criminal charges against more than a dozen people involved in a failed effort to recall Assembly Speaker Robin Vos.
In a letter obtained by WisPolitics, sent Feb. 27, the bipartisan commission said it found probable cause that 13 recall volunteers violated election fraud laws. Two allegedly listed false addresses on petition forms, and 11 are accused of turning in fraudulent voter signatures. The findings have been forwarded to the Racine County district attorney for review.
The recall campaign came from supporters of President Donald Trump, who criticized Vos for refusing to decertify Wisconsin’s 2020 presidential results. Vos filed a complaint with the Elections Commission after several residents said they found their names forged on recall petitions.
The…
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