News
OneCoin fraud: “CryptoQueen” lawyer denied new trial
The court has denied a motion seeking a new trial for the lawyer of OneCoin founder, Ruja “CryptoQueen” Ignatov.
- The accused, Mark Scott, laundered $400 million through the OneCoin crypto scam, the prosecutors claimed.
- In November 2019, the court found Scott guilty of money laundering and bank fraud.
The U.S. District Judge has denied a motion seeking a new trial for Mark Scott, the lawyer accused of laundering $400 million through the OneCoin cryptocurrency scam, Bloomberg reported.
In November 2019, the court found Scott guilty of money laundering and bank fraud. The prosecutors claimed Scott made nearly $50 million through a fraudulent fund that processed payments obtained illegally from the OneCoin scheme.
Scott argued that he was not aware of the fraudulent nature of the OneCoin scheme at the time of operation. He urged Judge Edgardo Ramos not to charge him for setting up the fund that laundered funds for OneCoin founder Ruja “CryptoQueen” Ignatov.
His lawyers also pointed out that Ruja Ignatov’s brother Konstantin, a prosecution witness, had given a false testimony to the court earlier.
But the judge was adamant that the ruling was appropriate, saying he was not convinced that “an innocent person may have been convicted” despite a witness’ false testimony.
Scott’s lawyers have decided to appeal the judgement, disappointed that the court ignored “undisputed evidence” of a false testimony.
This rather tough stance is nothing new for Judge Ramos. Last week, he sentenced OneCoin co-founder Karl Sebastian Greenwood to 20 years in prison and a fine of $300 million.
OneCoin scammed 3.5 million individuals of $4 billion
The OneCoin crypto scam defrauded 3.5 million individuals of $4 billion since its launch in Bulgaria in 2014. The team of fraudsters not only likened the OneCoin token to Bitcoin [BTC], but also called it the “Bitcoin killer.”
The other co-founder and the global face of the scam, Ruja “CryptoQueen” Ignatova, remains on the run. The “CryptoQueen” remains on the Most Wanted list of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Other members associated with the OneCoin crypto scam are facing charges or found guilty or are absconding.
