A $40 million fund has been established from seized assets for victims of the $4 billion OneCoin cryptocurrency scam, as announced by the US Department of Justice. The scheme, which operated between 2014 and 2019, was led by co-founders Ignatova and Karl Sebastian Greenwood, and involved the sale of a fraudulent cryptocurrency through a global multi-level marketing network. Over 3.4 million investors worldwide were defrauded, with total investments exceeding $4 billion. The scheme collapsed in 2017 after it was discovered that the value of OneCoin was being artificially inflated.
In recent developments, a $5 million reward has been offered for information leading to the capture of the missing 'Cryptqueen', while Greenwood has admitted to federal wire fraud and money laundering charges. According to US Attorney Jay Clayton, 'OneCoin's founders perpetrated a massive deception, resulting in losses of over $4 billion worldwide.' The Department of Justice has pledged to continue seizing illicit proceeds and prioritizing the return of funds to victims.
This development comes on the heels of 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 defunct crypto trading platform.