The letters were sent last week to both men, Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turõgin, requiring them to pay US$400 million due to their role in the ponzi scheme. The letters stated that the DHS was "terminating your parole," ordering them to leave and warning they should not "attempt to remain in the U.S." with the threat that "the federal government will find you."

However, these orders contradict a court order requiring both to remain on parole in King County in the state of Washington, until sentencing in August. The men's attorneys noted the discrepancy in a letter to the judge, adding that the DHS letters caused them "significant anxiety."

The legal team confirmed Potapenko and Turõgin intend to comply with the court order to stay in King County and disregard the DHS order, after obtaining a one-year deferral of the DHS self-deportation order, starting April 11. They also plan to return to Estonia after sentencing, with the court expected to issue a final judgment in May.

The letters follow a wave of similar DHS orders from the Donald Trump administration, instructing people, some of them U.S. citizens, to deport themselves.

Turõgin and Potapenko pleaded guilty in February to running a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme through HashFlare, defrauding hundreds of thousands of people out of over half a billion dollars.

As part of a plea deal, they agreed to forfeit more than US$400 million in assets to compensate victims and potentially face up to 20 years in prison.

The FBI led the investigation, with assistance from the Estonian Police and Border Guard's (PPA) Cybercrime Bureau, which led to their extradition to the U.S. in May 2023, after their original arrest in November 2022.

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