TechFlow News, April 14: According to Cointelegraph, the U.S. Department of Justice has officially launched a restitution program for victims of the OneCoin cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme. Victims who purchased OneCoin between 2014 and 2019 and incurred net losses are eligible to file claims. Over $40 million in seized assets is currently available for restitution.
OneCoin was founded in Bulgaria in 2014 by Ruja Ignatova and Karl Sebastian Greenwood. At its peak, it ranked as the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, but later collapsed due to its tokens having no real utility. Approximately 3.5 million victims worldwide lost over $4 billion—some estimates place the losses as high as $19 billion. Co-founder Greenwood was sentenced in 2023 to 20 years’ imprisonment; the other co-founder, Ignatova, has been missing since 2017 and is now on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted” list, with a $5 million reward offered for information leading to her capture.
