Mark Scott, lawyer of the OneCoin cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, undergoes trial for laundering $400 million out of the U.S.
For those who do not know what OneCoin exactly is, it was perhaps one of the biggest scams in cryptocurrency’s short history. Konstantin Ignatov and Ruja Ignatova were behind this international pyramid scheme. Ruja was charged by prosecutes in the U.S. with money laundering, wire fraud and securities fraud; she thereafter vanished from the public eye, whilst Konstantin was arrested and indicted.
Through 2014 to 2016, OneCoin managed to generate $3.8 billion, with more than 3 million users across the globe. However, the OneCoin cryptocurrency had no value. Mark Scott was allegedly involved in creating offshore investment vehicles by the name of “Fenero Funds.” These were then used to move the money for the scam. Some of the $400 million funds are alleged to have been moved to accounts in the Bank of Ireland.
Scott was arrested a year ago in Massachusetts. He insisted that he had no knowledge of any fraud happening at OneCoin. According to prosecutors, Scott used some of the laundered money to buy a Ferrari, a yacht and three houses. Currently he faces one charge for committing bank fraud and another for conspiring to launder money. The trial is expected to last two to three weeks according to the judge presiding over the case.
New York State Attorney commented on how OneCoin used the success of Bitcoin(BTC)trade to lure its victims in investing in it. “This was, of course, completely false because the price of OneCoin was a fiction and not based on supply and demand,” he stated.
Investigations of the Crypto Scam Around the World
OneCoin is under investigation across the globe, in countries such as Canada, the U.K., Italy, Ukraine and Ireland. Back in January of 2018, OneCoin’s commercial agent’s office was raided in Bulgaria for investigation. China managed to recover $253 million by prosecuting 98 people.
Other people involved in the scheme are also being prosecuted and searched. Konstantin Ignatov was arrested at LA International Airport in March, while one of the co-founders of OneCoin, Sebastian Greenwood was handed over to U.S. authorities in the November of 2018. Konstantin’s sister Ruja Ignatova, disappeared around 2017 and police has not been able to find her ever since.
Interestingly, OneCoin Ltd. continues to operate and denies being involved in any type of fraud. In a recent statement it said “OneCoin verifiably fulfils all criteria of the definition of a cryptocurrency.” The statement continued, stating that the lawyers, partners and customers of OneCoin are fighting against the proceedings.
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