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 exceeding $4 billion.
Founded by Ignatova and Karl Sebastian Greenwood, OneCoin Ltd. marketed and sold a fraudulent cryptocurrency through a global multi-level-marketing network. The scheme, which the DOJ described as 'one of the largest global fraud schemes in history,' was found to have manipulated the perceived value of OneCoin through automatic coin generation, leading to its collapse in 2017. In a recent development, the DOJ has offered a $5 million reward for information leading to the capture of the missing 'Cryptqueen.' Greenwood, who allegedly referred to investors as 'idiots,' pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud and money laundering charges in 2022.
According to US Attorney Jay Clayton, the founders of OneCoin 'sold a lie disguised as cryptocurrency,' resulting in losses of over $4 billion worldwide. The DOJ has pledged to continue seizing criminal proceeds and prioritizing the return of funds to victims.
This compensation process follows the FTX Recovery Trust's announcement to distribute $2.2 billion to creditors, as part of a broader effort to recover assets for users of the collapsed crypto trading platform.