More than a decade after the OneCoin scam began, victims are now eligible for compensation from a $40 million fund of seized assets, as announced by the US Department of Justice. The international cryptocurrency investment scheme, which operated from 2014 to 2019, defrauded up to 3.4 million investors worldwide, with estimated losses of over $4 billion.
Founded by Ignatova and Karl Sebastian Greenwood, OneCoin Ltd. sold a fraudulent cryptocurrency through a global multi-level marketing network, deceiving investors with promises of tokens that did not exist on any blockchain. The scheme collapsed in 2017 after it was discovered that the founders had artificially inflated the value of OneCoin. In 2022, Greenwood pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud and money laundering charges, while Ignatova remains at large, with a $5 million reward offered for her capture.
According to US Attorney Jay Clayton, the DOJ will continue to seize assets and prioritize returning funds to the victims. This development comes as the FTX Recovery Trust prepares to distribute $2.2 billion to creditors, as part of its efforts to recover assets for users of the collapsed crypto trading platform.