The Justice Department has announced the start of a compensation process for victims of OneCoin, an international cryptocurrency investment scheme that defrauded investors of more than $4 billion between 2014 and 2019.
OneCoin Ltd., based in Sofia, Bulgaria, was co-founded by Ruja Ignatova and Karl Sebastian Greenwood. Prosecutors said the company marketed a fraudulent cryptocurrency through a global multi-level marketing network. Victims were misled by false representations about the value and legitimacy of the OneCoin digital currency, according to the Justice Department. More than $40 million in forfeited assets are currently available for victim compensation through the remission process.
Victims who purchased OneCoin between 2014 and 2019 may be eligible to file a petition at www.onecoinremission.com or request a form from the Remission Administrator by phone, email, or mail. The deadline to file is June 30. Kroll Settlement Administration LLC is serving as the remission administrator. The Justice Department cautioned that neither the department nor the administrator will request payment to participate in the process.
“Between 2014 and 2019, OneCoin’s founders sold a lie disguised as cryptocurrency, costing victims more than $4 billion worldwide,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York, where the department filed a number of OneCoin-related prosecutions. “Today’s announcement marks an important step toward returning funds to those harmed.”
Several key figures involved in the scheme have been sentenced, though Ignatova remains at large. The FBI has listed her among its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives and is seeking information through tips.fbi.gov or 1-800-CALL-FBI.
“Misled by falsified statements and empty promises, many unknowingly depleted their savings for a fraudulent investment scheme in an emerging financial ecosystem that would never pay out,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle Jr. of the New York Field Office.
The criminal investigation was conducted by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation, with assistance from the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs. IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan said investigators “worked tirelessly to trace illicit funds and recover them for victims.”
The Justice Department’s Criminal Division, including its Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section, manages the remission process. Since 2000, the section has returned more than $12.5 billion in forfeited assets to crime victims nationwide, the department said.
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