OneCoin’s Lawyer Gets a Decade in Jail for Laundering $400 Million

<p dir="ltr">Mark Scott, the lawyer who laundered $400 million for the OneCoin crypto scam, has been sentenced to ten years in prison. He was convicted of two counts related to bank fraud and money laundering in 2019.</p><p dir="ltr">The Sentencing after a Long Wait</p><p dir="ltr">Scott was sentenced yesterday (Thursday) by Judge Edgardo Ramos of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/news/us-court-pushes-back-sentencing-of-onecoin-lawyer-to-may-26/" target="_blank" rel="follow">following multiple postponements</a>. The prosecutors sought a harsher sentencing of 17 years, whereas the defense lawyers tried to bring it down to five years.</p><p dir="ltr">The lawyer was one of the first high-profile individuals associated with OneCoin, considered one of the largest crypto scams, to face the legal trail. He was a mastermind behind laundering a staggering amount using multiple accounts to funnel them through the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands to the United Arab Emirates. According to the prosecutors, he made $50 million from laundering OneCoin proceeds.</p><p dir="ltr">At the <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/news/us-lawyer-convicted-for-laundering-400-million-of-onecoin-proceeds/">time of the trial</a>, Scott said he did not know that OneCoin was fraudulent. He additionally expressed sympathy towards OneCoin victims before his sentencing.</p><blockquote><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Scott: I have sympathy for OneCoin's victims .Judge Ramos: I sentence you to ten years</p>— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) <a href="https://twitter.com/innercitypress/status/1750620382791430158?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 25, 2024</a></blockquote><p dir="ltr">The Largest Crypto Fraud</p><p dir="ltr">OneCoin dupped victims around the globe for over $4 billion. Based in Bulgaria, it operated as a multi-level marketing scheme, defrauding victims even in the remotest Pacific islands. According to available records, the scheme generated €4.037 billion in sales revenue between Q4 2014 and Q4 2016, earning €2.735 billion in profits.</p><p dir="ltr">Apart from Scott, the US prosecutors took action against a few other top individuals associated with the fraudulent scheme. Last year, OneCoin’s Co-Founder, Karl Greenwood, was sentenced to 20 years in prison following his guilty plea for wire fraud. The <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/onecoin-saga-continues-compliance-head-pleads-guilty-for-money-laundering/">former Compliance Head of OneCoin, Irina Dilkinska</a>, pled guilty to the charges of wire fraud and money laundering.</p><p dir="ltr">Meanwhile, OneCoin's mastermind, Ruja Igantova, aka 'Cryptoqueen', is still at large. She disappeared from public view in October 2017 after reaching Greece on a commercial flight from Bulgaria. Her name is now on the FBI's top ten "Most Wanted" person list, with a reward of $100,000 for any information leading to her arrest. In addition, she is on the list of Europe's most wanted fugitives.</p><p dir="ltr">Ahead of the recent sentencing, Scott’s lawyers appealed for a new trial, claiming that false testimony by citing false testimony provided by a government witness, Konstantin Ignatov (Ignatova's brother). However, the <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/onecoin-money-laundering-lawyer-denied-new-trial/">request was denied</a>. He pleaded guilty to his role at OneCoin and is now <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/news/onecoin-investors-settle-with-co-mastermind-konstantin-ignatov/">cooperating with the prosecutors</a>.</p><p dir="ltr">A Fraud Survey
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This article was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.