Key Takeaways
- • The U.S. Department of Justice has opened a $40 million victim compensation fund for OneCoin fraud victims, administered by Kroll Settlement Administration LLC, with a June 30 filing deadline at onecoinremission.com.
- • OneCoin defrauded global investors of approximately $4 billion between 2014 and 2019 through a multi-level-marketing cryptocurrency scheme operated from Sofia, Bulgaria.
- • Co-founder Karl Sebastian Greenwood was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2023; co-founder Ruja Ignatova (the "Cryptoqueen") remains at large and is listed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list and Europol's most-wanted register.
- • The $40 million compensation pool derives from criminal asset forfeiture proceedings managed by the DOJ's Criminal Division Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section.
- • Eligible victims are those who purchased the fraudulent OneCoin cryptocurrency between 2014 and 2019 and can file petitions through the remission process to claim their share of recovered funds.
Summary
The U.S. Department of Justice announced on April 14, 2026, the opening of a victim compensation process for those defrauded by OneCoin, making over $40 million in forfeited assets available for distribution. The remission process is administered by Kroll Settlement Administration LLC through onecoinremission.com, with victims required to submit petitions by June 30 to be eligible for recovery.
OneCoin operated as an international investment scheme from 2014 to 2019, orchestrated by co-founders Ruja Ignatova and Karl Sebastian Greenwood. The scheme marketed a fraudulent cryptocurrency through a global multi-level-marketing network based in Sofia, Bulgaria, ultimately defrauding investors worldwide of approximately $4 billion. The DOJ has pursued multiple prosecutions in the Southern District of New York resulting in the conviction and sentencing of key scheme figures.
Greenwood, co-founder and primary architect of the fraud, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison in 2023. The assets seized from his prosecution form the core of the victim compensation fund. However, Ignatova, known as the "Cryptoqueen," remains a fugitive. The FBI added her to its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, and Europol has placed her on its most-wanted register, with international authorities continuing active manhunt operations.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the DOJ's Criminal Division stated that "Victims are at the core of everything we do at the Department of Justice," emphasizing the agency's commitment to using criminal forfeiture proceeds to compensate victims. U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York called the compensation process "an important step toward returning funds to those harmed," while FBI Assistant Director James C. Barnacle Jr. noted the "monumental" scale of victim losses, particularly among individuals who unknowingly depleted their savings for the fraudulent investment scheme.
Eligible victims who purchased OneCoin cryptocurrency between 2014 and 2019 may petition for compensation by obtaining forms at onecoinremission.com or by contacting the Remission Administrator directly. The compensation process represents one of the largest forfeiture-based victim recovery efforts in a cryptocurrency fraud case to date.
OneCoin operated as an international investment scheme from 2014 to 2019, orchestrated by co-founders Ruja Ignatova and Karl Sebastian Greenwood. The scheme marketed a fraudulent cryptocurrency through a global multi-level-marketing network based in Sofia, Bulgaria, ultimately defrauding investors worldwide of approximately $4 billion. The DOJ has pursued multiple prosecutions in the Southern District of New York resulting in the conviction and sentencing of key scheme figures.
Greenwood, co-founder and primary architect of the fraud, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison in 2023. The assets seized from his prosecution form the core of the victim compensation fund. However, Ignatova, known as the "Cryptoqueen," remains a fugitive. The FBI added her to its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, and Europol has placed her on its most-wanted register, with international authorities continuing active manhunt operations.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the DOJ's Criminal Division stated that "Victims are at the core of everything we do at the Department of Justice," emphasizing the agency's commitment to using criminal forfeiture proceeds to compensate victims. U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York called the compensation process "an important step toward returning funds to those harmed," while FBI Assistant Director James C. Barnacle Jr. noted the "monumental" scale of victim losses, particularly among individuals who unknowingly depleted their savings for the fraudulent investment scheme.
Eligible victims who purchased OneCoin cryptocurrency between 2014 and 2019 may petition for compensation by obtaining forms at onecoinremission.com or by contacting the Remission Administrator directly. The compensation process represents one of the largest forfeiture-based victim recovery efforts in a cryptocurrency fraud case to date.
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