OneCoin Legal Director Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison for Involvement in Cryptocurrency Pyramid Scheme: Report
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York sentenced Irina Dilkinska, a Bulgarian national, to four years in prison for her involvement in the web3 initiative OneCoin and the cryptocurrency of the same name.
Dilkinska also must forfeit $111,440,000 and comply with one month of supervised release, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Although Dilkinska was the project’s legal and compliance officer, she facilitated money laundering and other financial crimes. In one instance, Dilkinska transferred $110 million in illicit OneCoin proceeds to a Cayman Islands entity.
“Irina Dilkinska’s involvement in the widespread OneCoin pyramid scheme was a clear violation of her conduct. Instead of upholding the law and accepting her position as a legal and compliance officer, she promoted and committed money laundering and helped exploit millions of victims,” it said. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement Wednesday.
According to a DOJ statement, records show the project recruited more than 3 million participants and generated approximately $4.4 billion (€4.037 billion) in sales revenue between the fourth quarter of 2014 and the fourth quarter of 2016. In total, victims invested more than $4 billion in OneCoin.
Dilkinska’s guilty plea
As previously reported by The Block, Dilkinska pleaded guilty in November 2023 to charges related to wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy for her role at OneCoin.
The DOJ alleges that OneCoin operated as a global multi-level marketing scheme, or “pyramid scheme,” a controversial business model in which sellers receive commissions on sales and recruit new participants.
OneCoin was founded by Ruja Ignatova and Karl Sebastian Greenwood, descendants of “Cryptoqueen”. Greenwood was sentenced to 20 years in prison and a $300 million fine for his involvement with OneCoin, and pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges.
Ruja Ignatova has been on the FBI’s most wanted list since May 2022 and is believed to still be wanted.
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