Key Takeaways:
- Irina Dilkinska, former legal and compliance chief for the OneCoin scam, has been sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to pay $111 million in restitution for her role in laundering millions for the scheme.
- The sentence was delivered by United States District Judge Edgardo Ramos, who emphasized Dilkinska’s significant involvement in the Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of billions, rejecting her plea for leniency.
- The OneCoin fraud, initiated in 2014, promised unreal returns on a non-existent cryptocurrency, operating as a pyramid scheme and amassing over $4.3 billion before its exposure and collapse.
In a landmark decision that underscores the severity of fraud within the cryptocurrency industry, Irina Dilkinska, the ex-chief of legal and compliance for the notorious OneCoin scam, has been handed a four-year prison sentence.
This judgment comes after Dilkinska’s admission of her involvement in laundering millions for the scheme.
“Head of Legal and Compliance” for multibillion-dollar cryptocurrency pyramid scheme “OneCoin” sentenced to four years in prisonhttps://t.co/ohvM1Y2Qx5
— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) April 3, 2024
On Wednesday, United States District Judge Edgardo Ramos delivered the sentence, spotlighting Dilkinska’s crucial role in the Ponzi scheme that deceived investors out of billions.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office’s announcement on April 3rd also detailed a subsequent month of supervised release and a staggering $111 million restitution order against Dilkinska.
OneCoin legal officer gets 4 years in prison for crypto scheme https://t.co/Og0HEbb2pe pic.twitter.com/UvXvHzL7m0
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 4, 2024
Despite pleas for leniency to return to her children in Bulgaria, Judge Ramos dismissed Dilkinska’s request for a non-custodial sentence, highlighting her intellectual acumen and the willful negligence of her actions’ legal and ethical ramifications.
Ramos expressed bewilderment at Dilkinska’s prolonged involvement in the scheme, questioning her inability to disengage before its collapse.
Dilkinska’s guilty plea to charges of wire fraud and money laundering came on November 10, facing up to ten years in prison if maximum sentences were applied to each charge.
The legal and compliance head for phony cryptocurrency OneCoin was sentenced to four years in prison for her role in the $4 billion fraud scheme. https://t.co/oV491sVlJc
— Bloomberg Crypto (@crypto) April 3, 2024
Her sentencing marks yet another OneCoin executive facing justice, following Karl Sebastian Greenwood’s20-year sentence for his part in the fraud.
The OneCoin saga, initiated by Ruja Ignatova and Greenwood in 2014, promised investors unreal returns tied to the non-existent cryptocurrency, “OneCoin.”
It operated as a classic pyramid scheme, rewarding investor recruitment over genuine product value.
OneCoin Endgame: Irina Dilkinska Gets 4 Years in Prison, US Asked for "Less than 10" Citing Aamer Abdulaziz still not in custody, like Ruja, amid Greenwood unsealing appeal – Inner City Press story: https://t.co/8Cr5McFtbB https://t.co/CHXmbPqpoF
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) April 3, 2024
Despite its exposure as a fraud in 2015, OneCoin astonishingly amassed over $4.3 billion in revenue before its eventual demise.
Ignatova, dubbed the “Cryptoqueen,” vanished in 2017, shortly after a federal warrant for her arrest, with speculations around her fate intensified following the murder of several associates in 2020.
OneCoin’s Legal and Compliance Head Gets 4 Years in Prison
— WikiFX_Eng (@WikiFX_Eng) April 4, 2024
Irina Dilkinska pled guilty to wire fraud and money laundering.
She has been sentenced to one month of supervised release and is required to forfeit $111 million.https://t.co/5QjKZTW0C9#OneCoin #PonziScheme
As the saga continues to unfold, the legal repercussions for those involved underscore the risks and regulatory scrutiny facing the crypto industry.
About The Author
Victor Fawole, a seasoned Web3 content creator and social media influencer, excels in bringing the pulse of the crypto world to our readers.
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