The US Department of Justice has launched a compensation process for victims of the $4 billion OneCoin crypto Ponzi scheme, using forfeited assets recovered from individuals behind the operation.
The department said Monday that more than $40 million in seized funds is available to reimburse investors who purchased OneCoin between 2014 and 2019 and suffered net losses.
Jay Clayton described the move as “an important step toward returning funds to those harmed.”
OneCoin, launched in 2014 with ambitions to rival Bitcoin, at one point claimed to be the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. It later unraveled after users discovered the tokens had no real utility, prompting investigations by authorities around the world.
“Between 2014 and 2019, OneCoin’s founders sold a lie disguised as cryptocurrency, costing victims more than $4 billion worldwide,” said Jay Clayton. “While no recovery can fully undo the damage, our office will continue working to seize criminal proceeds and prioritize returning funds to victims.”
One co-founder missing, another sentenced
OneCoin was launched in Bulgaria by Ruja Ignatova and Karl Sebastian Greenwood, and began operating in the United States around 2015.
The US Department of Justice estimates that the scheme defrauded roughly 3.5 million victims of more than $4 billion between 2014 and the end of 2016, though some global estimates place total losses as high as $19 billion.
Before its collapse, several central banks—including those in Latvia, Sweden, and Norway—warned that OneCoin could be a Ponzi scheme.
Authorities moved in during 2018, when Bulgarian police raided the company’s headquarters and arrested Greenwood, who was later sentenced to 20 years in prison in September 2023 for his role in the fraud.
Ignatova, meanwhile, disappeared in 2017 after boarding a flight to Athens. She remains on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, with a $5 million reward offered for information leading to her capture and conviction.
