Ponzi Scam Onecoin officers Sentenced for Fraud

Bulgarian national Irina Dilkinska, the former head of legal and compliance for OneCoin, was sentenced to 4 years in prison for money laundering and wire fraud. She helped executives launder hundreds of millions in fraud proceeds, is the latest OneCoin executive to be brought to justice for her role in the $4 billion crypto Ponzi scheme. Instead of ensuring OneCoin was operating within legal and regulatory parameters, prosecutors say Bulgarian national Irina Dilkinska helped with the day-to-day operations of the scheme and, after its collapse in 2016, helped executives launder their ill-gotten gains by working with American lawyer Mark Scott to squirrel away $400 million to the Cayman Islands.
Another OneCoin official was sentenced in 2019 Mark Scott of of Coral Gables, Florida was was sentenced to three years of supervised release and was also ordered to forfeit a money judgment in the amount of $392,940,000, several bank accounts, a yacht, two Porsche automobiles, and four real-estate properties.
How It Began

OneCoin, which began operations in 2014 and was based in Sofia, Bulgaria, marketed and sold a fraudulent cryptocurrency by the same name through a global multi-level-marketing (“MLM”) network. OneCoin began operating in the U.S. in or around 2015. The OneCoin scheme was one of the largest fraud schemes ever perpetrated. Between the fourth quarter of 2014 and the fourth quarter of 2016 alone, the scheme took in more than $4 billion from at least 3.5 million victims. Despite its claims, OneCoin operated as a centralized digital currency, and there was no genuine blockchain or public ledger to verify transactions. Furthermore, the company's business model relied heavily on recruiting new members rather than legitimate cryptocurrency trading or mining activities.

OneCoin marketed its fake cryptocurrency through a global MLM network of OneCoin members. Unlike legitimate cryptocurrencies, OneCoin had no actual value and was conceived of as a fraud from day one. The misrepresentations made to OneCoin investors were legion, and the cryptocurrency was worthless. Among other things, OneCoin lied to its members about how its cryptocurrency was valued, claiming that the price of OneCoin was based on market supply and demand, when in fact OneCoin itself arbitrarily set the value of the coin without regard to market forces. The purported value of a OneCoin grew steadily from €0.50 to approximately €29.95 per coin, as of in or about January 2019. The purported price of OneCoins never decreased in value.

Red Flags

However, several red flags and inconsistencies regarding OneCoin's operations and business model started to emerge over time. Independent cryptocurrency experts and researchers pointed out that OneCoin's claims about its technology and blockchain were false. Additionally, regulatory authorities in various countries began issuing warnings and taking legal actions against OneCoin, labeling it as a fraudulent scheme and a Ponzi scheme. The exposure of OneCoin as a scam gained momentum when investigations by law enforcement agencies and journalists revealed the extent of the fraud and the involvement of its founders and key promoters. Ruja Ignatova, the founder of OneCoin, disappeared in 2017, and she was subsequently charged with money laundering, securities fraud, and wire fraud in the United States. As of this writing her whereabout is still unknown.

The unraveling of OneCoin's scam was a result of diligent investigative work by authorities, whistleblowers, and journalists who exposed the fraudulent activities and deceptive practices of the company. The case of OneCoin serves as a stark reminder of the risks and pitfalls associated with investing in cryptocurrency schemes that promise unrealistic returns and operate without transparency and regulatory oversight. it is very important for anybody who wants to get into cryptocurrency to study what it is and what it is not. DYOR

Source
https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/04/04/onecoin-compliance-chief-sentenced-to-4-years-in-prison-for-role-in-4b-ponzi-scheme/
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/former-law-firm-partner-sentenced-10-years-prison-laundering-400-million-onecoin-fraud