DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Co-founder of $4 billion crypto ponzi scheme gets 20 years in prison, 'Cryptoqueen' partner remains at large
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Damian Williams, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, speaks at a press conference to announce the addition of “Cryptoqueen” Ruja Ignatova to the FBI’s most-wanted fugitives list, in New York, June 30, 2022. The co-founder of the fraudulent OneCoin cryptocurrency, a massive pyramid scheme that amassed over $4 billion from millions of investors worldwide, was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in prison. His partner, Ruja Ignatova, known as the "Cryptoqueen" on the FBI's Top 10 Most Wanted list, remains at large, the Department of Justice said. Greenwood "operated one of the largest fraud schemes ever perpetrated," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a press release. "We hope this lengthy sentence resonates in the financial sector and deters anyone who may be tempted to lie to investors and exploit the cryptocurrency ecosystem through fraud," Williams said.

Persons: Damian Williams, Ignatova, Karl Sebastian Greenwood, Ruja Ignatova, Greenwood, Williams Organizations: Department of Justice, U.S Locations: Manhattan, New York

☆ Property documents for a London apartment suggest wanted 'crypto-queen' is alive after allegedly vanishing in 2017 with $4 billion from investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Wanted fugitive Ruja Ignatova hasn't been seen since October 2017. A recent property listing hints that Ignatova is alive and still on the run, reports say. Bulgarian-born Ignatova, 42, is wanted by the FBI for allegedly scamming investors out of $4 billion between 2014 and 2016 in a Ponzi scheme using her now-defunct company OneCoin. In October 2017, she vanished until documents related to a penthouse apartment in London seemingly pointed to her whereabouts, the New York Post reported. "It suggests she is still alive, and there are documents out there somewhere which contain vital clues as to her recent whereabouts," Bartlett said.

☆ How 'Cryptoqueen' Ruja Ignatova ended up as the only woman on the FBI's most-wanted list
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Faith Karimi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Ruja Ignatova is one of the FBI's 10 most-wanted fugitives -- the only woman currently on that list. FBIShe is now one of the FBI’s 10 most-wanted fugitives, alongside accused gang leaders and murderers, and is the only woman currently on that list. The bureau declined to provide additional details to CNN beyond court documents from the US Department of Justice, which did not list an attorney for Ignatova. “The cryptocurrency OneCoin was established for the sole purpose of defrauding investors,” IRS Special Agent John R. Tafur said in a statement. Less than two weeks later, on October 25, 2017, she boarded a commercial flight from Sofia, Bulgaria, to Athens, Greece, court documents said.

NEW YORK, Dec 16 (Reuters) - A dual citizen of Sweden and the United Kingdom pleaded guilty to U.S. fraud and money laundering charges on Friday for selling a fake cryptocurrency alongside one of the United States' most-wanted fugitives, a woman referred to as the 'Cryptoqueen.' The plea comes as prosecutors in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) ramp up enforcement of financial crimes related to digital assets. Prosecutors said Greenwood founded OneCoin in Sofia, Bulgaria in 2014 alongside Ruja Ignatova, a German citizen who prosecutors say is also known as the 'Cryptoqueen.' He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 5 for the three counts to which he pleaded guilty. He is currently detained in The Bahamas, where FTX is based, and is contesting a U.S. request for his extradition.

Search resuls for: "Ignatova"

4 mentions found