The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) are urging victims of the infamous OneCoin international crypto fraud scheme to submit their claims.
Victims whose investments resulted in a net loss must apply for compensation via the DOJ’s specialized remissions program by June 30.
The DOJ officially opened the remissions process and launched its dedicated portal to allow individuals who purchased OneCoin between 2014 and 2019 to formally file petitions. Filing a petition does not guarantee financial compensation.
The ancient OneCoin scam
The notorious scam saga originated in Bulgaria all the way back in 2014. It was pulled off by Ruja Ignatova and her business partner, Karl Sebastian Greenwood. OneCoin was being marketed to the public as a groundbreaking virtual currency that could kill Bitcoin.
The scam relied on a convoluted multi-level marketing (MLM) pyramid scheme. The fraudsters promised that the token would eventually be able to break into the mainstream.
OneCoin was being shilled at international conferences and arena-style events, which definitely helped to generate more hype.
Victims were pressured into buying OneCoin financial packages that seemingly came with specialized “tokens” for mining. Unfortunate investors were highly encouraged to engage friends and family, which is typical for such Ponzi schemes.
Of course, the tokens and the “software” behind them were completely worthless.
Uninitiated retail investors worldwide had collectively lost more than $4 billion. These losses are quite staggering, considering that the crypto industry was still in its nascency back then.
Greenwood was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison on Sept. 12, 2023.
However, Ignatova, remains a fugitive up to this day. The FBI is willing to shell out up to $5 million for any verifiable information leading directly to her arrest or conviction.
