US Justice Department opens claims for victims of $4 billion OneCoin fraud

The U.S. Department of Justice has opened a remission claims process for victims of the OneCoin cryptocurrency scheme, allowing eligible investors to seek compensation from forfeited assets tied to related criminal cases.

More than $40 million in forfeited assets are now available for distribution through the department's remission process, though the scheme collected over $4 billion from victims worldwide between 2014 and 2019, according to a DOJ statement released Monday.

Individuals who purchased the OneCoin cryptocurrency during that period may be eligible to file claims through the remission program administered by Kroll. Petition forms are available through the program's website, and submissions must be filed by June 30, the DOJ said.

The funds stem from criminal forfeiture actions tied to federal prosecutions in the Southern District of New York, per the statement.

The announcement comes as OneCoin co-founder Ruja Ignatova remains a fugitive. Ignatova was added to the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list in June 2022, and the bureau said it is offering a reward of up to $250,000 for information leading to her arrest. The U.S. State Department has also offered a separate reward of up to $5 million for information leading to Ignatova's capture. 

OneCoin prosecutions

While Ignatova remains at large, her associates have faced legal consequences in multiple jurisdictions.

A Munich-based lawyer who allegedly transferred 20 million euros ($23.6 million) on Ignatova's behalf to the Cayman Islands toward the purchase of two London apartments faced charges in German court in October 2022. Prosecutors accused the lawyer, along with a husband and wife who allegedly handled 320 million euros ($377 million) in OneCoin customer payments over one year, with money laundering, fraud and banking offenses.

In the U.S., OneCoin co-founder Karl Sebastian Greenwood pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering in December 2022, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison and $300 million in penalty.

OneCoin's head of legal and compliance, Irina Dilkinska, was sentenced to four years in prison in April 2024 and ordered to forfeit $111.44 million. Dilkinska had pleaded guilty in November 2023 to charges related to conspiracies of wire fraud and money laundering. 

The latest person charged in the scheme is William Morro. Prosecutors allege Morro participated in a scheme to hide the source of funds connected to OneCoin by lying to banks about the origin of those funds. Morro caused $35 million in funds connected to OneCoin to be transferred to an account in Hong Kong and transferred about $6 million to an account in the U.S., prosecutors said. 

Morro was arrested on April 23, 2024, and charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud.