A $40 million compensation fund has been established for victims of the $4 billion OneCoin Ponzi scheme, the US Department of Justice announced. The scheme, which operated from 2014 to 2019, defrauded up to 3.4 million investors worldwide. Founded by Ignatova and Karl Sebastian Greenwood, OneCoin Ltd.
marketed and sold a fraudulent cryptocurrency through a global multi-level-marketing network. Investors lost over $4 billion in the scheme, which did not involve any actual cryptocurrencies or blockchain.
The DOJ has described it as 'one of the largest global fraud schemes in history.' In 2024, a $5 million reward was offered for the missing 'Cryptqueen.' Greenwood admitted to federal wire fraud and money laundering charges in 2022. According to US Attorney Jay Clayton, 'OneCoin's founders sold a lie disguised as cryptocurrency, costing victims over $4 billion worldwide.' The DOJ will continue to seize criminal proceeds and prioritize restitution for victims. This development comes after the FTX Recovery Trust announced a $2.2 billion distribution to creditors, part of a broader effort to recover assets for users of the collapsed crypto trading platform.