Key Takeaways
- • The U.S. Department of Justice opened a victim compensation remission process on April 14, 2026, distributing over $40 million in forfeited assets from the OneCoin fraud scheme that defrauded investors of approximately $4 billion globally between 2014 and 2019.
- • Eligible victims of the OneCoin cryptocurrency scheme can file petitions for compensation through onecoinremission.com, administered by Kroll Settlement Administration LLC, with a filing deadline of June 30, 2026.
- • OneCoin co-founder Karl Sebastian Greenwood was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2023, with criminal forfeiture actions in the Southern District of New York generating the $40 million victim compensation pool.
- • Ruja Ignatova, the scheme's other co-founder known as the "Cryptoqueen," remains a fugitive with the FBI offering $250,000 and the U.S. State Department offering $5 million in rewards for information leading to her arrest.
- • The compensation process represents a significant enforcement milestone in cryptocurrency fraud prosecution, with legal experts noting it sets a precedent for how global digital asset scams are handled in restitution frameworks.
Summary
The U.S. Department of Justice announced a victim compensation program on April 14, 2026, establishing a remission process to distribute over $40 million in forfeited assets to victims of the OneCoin cryptocurrency fraud scheme. The international investment scheme, orchestrated between 2014 and 2019 by co-founders Ruja Ignatova and Karl Sebastian Greenwood, defrauded approximately $4 billion from investors worldwide through a global multi-level-marketing network based in Sofia, Bulgaria.
OneCoin marketed and sold a fraudulent cryptocurrency by misrepresenting its legitimacy and returns to a global investor base. The scheme's scale and international reach resulted in multiple criminal prosecutions in the Southern District of New York. Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's Criminal Division stated, "Victims are at the core of everything we do at the Department of Justice," emphasizing the department's commitment to pursuing forfeiture and converting criminal proceeds into victim compensation.
Eligible victims who purchased OneCoin cryptocurrency between 2014 and 2019 can file petitions for compensation through an online portal at onecoinremission.com. The remission process is administered by Kroll Settlement Administration LLC, with a filing deadline of June 30, 2026. Petition forms are available online or can be requested directly from the Remission Administrator. Karl Sebastian Greenwood, the co-founder who faced prosecution, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2023, with criminal asset forfeiture generating the compensation pool now available to victims.
Ruja Ignatova, the scheme's other co-founder known as the "Cryptoqueen," remains at large. The FBI added Ignatova to its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in June 2022, offering a $250,000 reward for information leading to her arrest. The U.S. State Department has separately offered $5 million for her capture. International authorities including Europol continue the manhunt for Ignatova, while other OneCoin associates in multiple jurisdictions have faced criminal charges including money laundering, fraud, and banking offenses, such as a Munich-based lawyer and a husband-wife pair who processed hundreds of millions in customer payments for the scheme.
OneCoin marketed and sold a fraudulent cryptocurrency by misrepresenting its legitimacy and returns to a global investor base. The scheme's scale and international reach resulted in multiple criminal prosecutions in the Southern District of New York. Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's Criminal Division stated, "Victims are at the core of everything we do at the Department of Justice," emphasizing the department's commitment to pursuing forfeiture and converting criminal proceeds into victim compensation.
Eligible victims who purchased OneCoin cryptocurrency between 2014 and 2019 can file petitions for compensation through an online portal at onecoinremission.com. The remission process is administered by Kroll Settlement Administration LLC, with a filing deadline of June 30, 2026. Petition forms are available online or can be requested directly from the Remission Administrator. Karl Sebastian Greenwood, the co-founder who faced prosecution, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2023, with criminal asset forfeiture generating the compensation pool now available to victims.
Ruja Ignatova, the scheme's other co-founder known as the "Cryptoqueen," remains at large. The FBI added Ignatova to its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in June 2022, offering a $250,000 reward for information leading to her arrest. The U.S. State Department has separately offered $5 million for her capture. International authorities including Europol continue the manhunt for Ignatova, while other OneCoin associates in multiple jurisdictions have faced criminal charges including money laundering, fraud, and banking offenses, such as a Munich-based lawyer and a husband-wife pair who processed hundreds of millions in customer payments for the scheme.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.