Cryptoqueen OneCoin’s legal chief pleads guilty to fraud.
The former head of compliance at OneCoin — a 2015 crypto scheme that defrauded investors out of $4 billion — has pleaded guilty to money laundering and wire fraud charges in Manhattan federal court.
In a statement issued on November 10, the Department of Justice (DOJ) US District Judge Edgardo Ramos accepted the guilty plea of 42-year-old Irene Dilkinska.
“Head of Legal & Compliance” pleads guilty to multi-billion dollar crypto pyramid scheme “OneCoin”https://t.co/E656236UXh
— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) November 9, 2023
Dilkinska pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit a felony. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
“Irina Dilkinska, OneCoin's so-called ‘Head of Legal and Compliance,' has achieved the exact opposite goal of her position,” US Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement.
“As she now admits, Dilkinska facilitated millions of dollars in ill-gotten gains through her multi-level marketing scheme.”
According to the prosecutor, while she had the role of compliance officer for OneCoin, Dilkinson played a key role in raising funds for the scheme. At one point, Dilkinson arranged for $110 million in fraudulent proceeds to be transferred to an entity in the Cayman Islands.
Dilkinska's sentencing is scheduled for February 14, 2024 – she faces a maximum of 10 years in prison for her role in the OneCoin scheme.
The Justice Department originally charged Dilkinska with one count of money laundering and one count of money laundering on March 21.
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OneCoin was founded in 2014 by “Cryptoqueen” Ruja Ignatova and Karl Sebastian Greenwood. Greenwood was sentenced to 20 years in prison and ordered to pay $300 million in restitution on fraud and money laundering charges.
But Ignatova disappeared in October 2017 after a federal warrant was issued for her arrest 15 days after she boarded a flight to Greece.
OneCoin was launched in 2015. It was exposed as a fraud in 2015 but still managed to generate more than $4.3 billion in revenue, posting a profit of nearly $3 billion between Q4 2014 and Q4 2016.
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