Ponzi Record

Bulgaria (operated worldwide) ยท To 2017 (prosecutors refer to coins distributed by 2015 and charges in October 2017)

OneCoin

The US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said OneCoin was sold as a cryptocurrency through a multi level marketing network that paid commissions for recruiting buyers. Prosecutors said its price was set arbitrarily, its claimed mining used no real mining, and its private blockchain was not publicly verifiable. Prosecutors said it was "conceived of by GREENWOOD and IGNATOVA as a fraud from day one."2

Losses as statedThe US Attorney's Office said OneCoin took more than $4 billion.2
Victims as statedThe US Attorney's Office said there were at least 3.5 million victims.
Recovered for investorsThe US Attorney's Office victim page, last updated 29 August 2023, states that there is no remission process.3

People and outcomes

Ruja Ignatova

Charged in the Southern District of New York, with a federal arrest warrant issued on 12 October 2017 and a superseding indictment on 6 February 2018 charging wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering conspiracy. Not convicted. Fugitive, added to the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on 30 June 2022. The Justice Department said in September 2023 that she remained at large. The FBI listed her as wanted when its page was checked on 28 October 2026.1,2

Response: No public response is recorded in the sources reviewed. The FBI says she was last known to have travelled from Sofia to Athens on 25 October 2017.1
Karl Sebastian Greenwood

Pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering charges. Sentenced on 12 September 2023 by Judge Edgardo Ramos to 20 years in prison and ordered to forfeit about $300 million.2,4

Response: Greenwood pleaded guilty, according to Cointelegraph. No statement by him appears in the Justice Department release.4,2

Timeline

  1. Federal arrest warrant issued for Ruja Ignatova.1
  2. Ignatova last known to have travelled from Sofia to Athens.1
  3. Superseding indictment filed against Ignatova.1
  4. FBI adds Ignatova to its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.1
  5. Greenwood sentenced to 20 years in prison.2

Sources

  1. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ruja Ignatova, Ten Most Wanted Fugitives (28 October 2026)
  2. US Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York, Co-founder of multibillion dollar cryptocurrency scheme OneCoin sentenced to 20 years in prison (12 September 2023)
  3. US Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York, United States v. Ruja Ignatova et al. and Gilbert Armenta, victim information (29 August 2023)
  4. Cointelegraph, OneCoin co-founder Greenwood gets 20 years in US jail for fraud, money laundering (12 September 2023)