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☆ OneCoin’s Compliance Head Pleads Guilty in $4 Billion Crypto Fraud Case
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Mengqi Sun | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

OneCoin, which was started in 2014 in Sofia, Bulgaria, marketed and sold cryptocurrency by the same name. Photo: 360-Berlin/Jens Knappe/Zuma PressAn executive who held the title of compliance head at purported cryptocurrency issuer OneCoin pleaded guilty Thursday to wire fraud and money-laundering charges, the U.S. Justice Department said. Irina Dilkinska, a 42-year-old Bulgarian national, was the so-called “head of legal and compliance” for OneCoin. She pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering for her role in what the prosecutors described as a $4 billion global multilevel-marketing scheme. She potentially faces a total of 10 years in prison on the two counts.

Persons: Jens Knappe, OneCoin, Irina Dilkinska Organizations: Zuma Press, U.S . Justice Department, Bulgarian, OneCoin Locations: Sofia, Bulgaria, Berlin, Manhattan

WASHINGTON, Sept 12 (Reuters) - The co-founder of OneCoin, a fake cryptocurrency scheme, who had pleaded guilty late last year to U.S. fraud and money laundering charges, was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Tuesday, the U.S. Justice Department said in a statement. Karl Sebastian Greenwood was arrested in Thailand and extradited to the United States in 2018 for his role in selling the purported cryptocurrency OneCoin, which federal prosecutors in Manhattan called a pyramid scheme that defrauded investors out of $4 billion. Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Karl Sebastian Greenwood, Kanishka Singh, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: U.S . Justice Department, Thomson Locations: Thailand, United States, Manhattan, Washington

☆ 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.

☆ Factbox: Major cryptocurrency cases probed by U.S. authorities
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

BITMEX EMPLOYEESEmployees of BitMEX, including the cryptocurrency exchange's founders, pleaded guilty this year to willfully failing to establish, implement and maintain programs to prevent money laundering. The firm's cofounders pleaded guilty in federal court in New York and each agreed to pay a $10 million criminal fine. Another of the firm's employees also pleaded guilty, and agreed to a $150,000 fine. ONECOIN LTDIn 2019, U.S. authorities charged the alleged leaders of a multibillion-dolar pyramid scheme involving a fraudulent cryptocurrency called OneCoin. After a six-month court battle, Telegram agreed to pay an $18.5 million civil penalty and return $1.2 billion to investors.

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