Crypto Attorney Gets 10-Year Sentence for Role in $400 Million OneCoin Scheme

Table of Contents

• Highlights
• The Case Against Mark Scott
• The OneCoin Crypto Scam
• Looking Ahead

Highlights

• Mark Scott, a lawyer involved with the OneCoin cryptocurrency scam, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to forfeit nearly $400 million.
• Scott was found guilty in 2019 of conspiracy and money laundering charges related to the OneCoin cryptocurrency fraud that scammed investors out of billions.
• Two other OneCoin co-founders, Ruja Ignatova and Sebastian Greenwood, have also been charged but Ignatova remains at large.

The Case Against Mark Scott

Mark Scott, a former partner at U.S. law firm Locke Lord, was sentenced on January 24, 2022 to 10 years in prison for his role in the OneCoin cryptocurrency fraud scheme worth an estimated $400 million according to Manhattan federal prosecutors. Scott was found guilty in November 2019 of conspiracy to commit money laundering and bank fraud charges related to OneCoin.U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos ordered Scott to forfeit $392.4 million in connection with the scheme. Forfeitures also include bank accounts, a yacht, two Porsche cars and four properties.

Prosecutors said Scott earned over $50 million from OneCoin and used the funds to purchase luxury items. They sought a 17-year sentence, arguing Scott’s crimes were motivated by greed. However, Scott’s defense requested a five-year sentence stating he is a “broken man” who was under home confinement for four years.

A New York state appellate court disbarred Scott in November 2020.

The OneCoin Crypto Scam

OneCoin was a cryptocurrency and multi-level marketing project created in 2014 that claimed to operate like Bitcoin. However, prosecutors said OneCoin had no real blockchain or cryptocurrency and was actually a $4 billion global Ponzi and money laundering scheme.

Karl Sebastian Greenwood, a OneCoin co-founder, was previously sentenced to 20 years in prison and ordered to forfeit $300 million. Ruja Ignatova, another co-founder known as the “Cryptoqueen,” remains at large and is on the FBI’s “Most Wanted” list with a $100,000 reward for information leading to her arrest. She was charged in 2019 with eight counts of fraud but has not been seen since 2017.

Looking Ahead

The stiff sentence handed down to Mark Scott sends a strong warning that the U.S. Justice Department takes cryptocurrency-related crime seriously. However, OneCoin co-founder Ruja Ignatova remains elusive, demonstrating the challenges of prosecuting global cryptocrime.

The FBI continues to offer the $100,000 reward for information leading to Ignatova’s arrest as the alleged mastermind behind the $4 billion OneCoin fraud.

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