The defendants allegedly used shell companies and fake contracts and invoices to launder the proceeds before using them to buy about 75 real estate properties, six luxury vehicles, and thousands of crypto mining machines.
Defense Statements
Potapenko’s attorney, Mark Bini of Reed Smith LLP, said in a statement to Law360 Friday that his client “is innocent of all of the charges.”
“He is an Estonian businessman with groundbreaking businesses that [the U.S. Department of Justice] effectively shuttered with their indictment,” Bini said. “We look forward to vindicating Sergei’s name.”
Turōgin’s attorney described him as “a family man and an entrepreneur who started successful businesses with his childhood best friend in Estonia — businesses that flourished and created jobs for many Estonians until the day the Department of Justice, thousands of miles away, decided to bring this ill-conceived indictment. Ivan is innocent of all the charges, and we look forward to the day when we can finally clear his name.”
2 Estonians Charged In $575M Crypto : Legal Representation
The government is represented by C. Seth Wilkinson, Jehiel Baer, and Sok Tea Jiang of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington, and Olivia Zhu and Adrienne Rosen of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Asset Recovery Section.
