$4 Billion Crypto Scam: OneCoin Co-Founder Gets 20 Years in Prison

Karl Sebastian Greenwood, one of the Co-Founders of OneCoin, a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in orchestrating this massive fraud. He has been ordered to pay approximately $300 million in forfeiture.

Greenwood's Role as Co-Founder of OneCoin

OneCoin was established in 2014 based in Sofia, Bulgaria. It operated as a cryptocurrency but was, in reality, a fraudulent scheme. The scheme was marketed and sold globally through a multi-level marketing (MLM) network. The participants recruited others to purchase OneCoin cryptocurrency packages.

Greenwood played a central role in OneCoin's MLM network as its global master distributor and leader. He earned substantial commission by recruiting new participants and was instrumental in promoting and selling the fraudulent cryptocurrency. Between the fourth quarter of 2014 and the fourth quarter of 2016, OneCoin amassed over $4 billion from more than 3.5 million victims. The victims invested in OneCoin cryptocurrency packages, believing they were making a legitimate investment.

Deceptive Practices: How OneCoin Misled Investors

Greenwood and other key figures in OneCoin deceived investors by comparing OneCoin to legitimate cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. They claimed that OneCoin's value was determined by market supply and demand. In reality, the price was arbitrarily set by OneCoin without regard to market forces. OneCoin also lied about the utility of its tokens and falsely claimed they could be used for mining OneCoins.

OneCoin promoted a "private blockchain". However, it lacked a public and verifiable blockchain. By March 2015, Greenwood and Ruja Ignatova a Co-Founder of OneCoin as stated in the source is known as the "Cryptoqueen", began allocating "fake coins" to members, referring to OneCoins that didn't even exist in OneCoin's purported private blockchain.

Greenwood earned over $300 million during the scheme, and he used these ill-gotten gains to fund an extravagant lifestyle. He spent millions on luxury designer items, a yacht, and real estate properties across different countries. He even travelled the world on a private plane branded with "OneCoin."

Ignatova's Disappearance and FBI's Most Wanted List

Greenwood was arrested in Koh Samui, Thailand, in July 2018 and extradited to the United States in October 2018. He has been detained since his arrest. Ignatova has been on the run since October 2017. She was added to the FBI's top ten most wanted list in June 2022.

A claim was made earlier that Ignatova was killed in 2018 in Greece. However, there is no proof of that. The BBC has uncovered that secretly acquired a luxurious four-bedroom penthouse. It was filled with expensive artwork and designer clothing. This revelation comes after financial regulators in at least one European country had already issued warnings about her fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme.

This case highlights the severity of cryptocurrency-related fraud and its global impact, as millions of investors fell victim to the OneCoin scam. While one co-founder has been brought to justice, the other remains at large, and the FBI is offering a substantial reward for information leading to her arrest.