On March 21, 2023, Irina Dilkinska, a former executive at OneCoin, was charged by the Department of Justice (DOJ) with one count of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Dilkinska was extradited from Bulgaria on March 20, 2023, and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each count.
Bulgarian woman charged for role in multi-billion-dollar cryptocurrency pyramid scheme “OneCoin” and extradited from Bulgaria to the United Stateshttps://t.co/XsY0rYJWeF
— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) March 21, 2023
The announcement stated that Dilkinska was scheduled to appear before the U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn on March 22, 2023.
Dilkinska was the Head of Legal and Compliance for OneCoin. She did the exact opposite of her job by making it possible for OneCoin to use shell corporations to launder millions of dollars in illicit gains. Dilkinska was allegedly involved in aiding her co-conspirator Mark Scott in laundering about $400 million using OneCoin.
OneCoin was a pyramid scheme scam created in 2014 by Ruja Ignatova, known as “Cryptoqueen,” and Karl Sebastian Greenwood. The company promoted a fake cryptocurrency of the same name, and its MLM network members received commissions for bringing in new customers who bought cryptocurrency products.
OneCoin grew rapidly, and according to its documents, over three million consumers bought phony cryptocurrency products, producing €4.037 billion in sales revenue and €2.735 billion in “profits” between the fourth quarters of 2014 and 2016.
In 2016, concerns about OneCoin began to surface as numerous nations started looking into the business, with some branding it as a pyramid scheme. In March 2016, the Norwegian Direct Selling Association classified the OneCoin scam as a pyramid scheme. The Hungarian Central Bank issued a warning about OneCoin being a pyramid scam later that year in December 2016.
The Twitter crypto community did not show excitement upon the announcement of Irina Dilkinska’s extradition and charges. Most of them reacted with less concern, expressing that Irina’s arrest alone was not sufficient. Instead, they expressed their eager anticipation of Ruja Ignatova’s arrest.
It’s NOT Dr Ruja, but OneCoin’s top lawyer, Irina Dilkinska. Still waiting on news of Frank Schneider’s extradition. OC co-founder Greenwood to be sentenced in NY on 5 April https://t.co/etNR02dPM9
— Rob Byrne (@ByrnesyGsy) March 21, 2023
It’s not Ruja Ignatova. There. I saved you a click. https://t.co/MJOWGtOWLB
— Ethan Lou (@Ethan_Lou) March 21, 2023
Ignatova has been on the run since 2017 and is currently a top FBI ten fugitive with a $100,000 reward set for whoever has a piece of helpful information that could lead to her arrest. She has also been charged in absentia for wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering by the U.S. authorities and might face up to 90 years as a penalty.
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