Co-founder of the largest crypto fraud OneCoin sentenced to 20 years in prison

Karl Sebastian Greenwood, co-founder of OneCoin and assistant to Ruja Ignatova, known as ‘Cryptoqueen’, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for participating in one of the largest crypto frauds.

It is rumored that Ignatova, who is on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, was killed in 2018.

20 years in prison for Greenwood

According to Bloomberg, Swedish citizen Karl Sebastian Greenwood was convicted on Tuesday, September 11, in New York. Greenwood was the main promoter of the OneCoin project, and prosecutors claimed he earned $300 million from the Ponzi scheme, using part of the money to spend on luxuries such as designer clothing and a down payment on a Sunseeker yacht.

Greenwood purchased real estate in Thailand, Spain, and Dubai, and also went on a luxury trip on a OneCoin private jet. However, the co-founder was arrested in Thailand in 2018, subsequently extradited to the U.S., and faced a prison sentence of up to 60 years for his illegal activities.

Greenwood later pleaded for leniency from the court, admitting that he knowingly promoted OneCoin, which was used to defraud unsuspecting victims. Greenwood also claimed he suffered extremely harsh conditions while being detained in Thailand and the U.S. and pleaded guilty to his crimes in December 2022.

The Bulgarian project OneCoin, founded by Ruja Ignatova, stole over $4 billion from investors worldwide. Ignatova and her team promoted OneCoin as a ‘bitcoin killer’ while successfully luring people to invest money.

In addition to Greenwood, another OneCoin executive, Irina Dilkinska, who was the head of legal affairs, is facing charges in the U.S. and could receive up to 40 years in prison for fraud and alleged violations of money laundering laws.

Ignatova’s ex-boyfriend Gilbert Armenta received a five-year prison sentence in February 2023 for promoting OneCoin. Armenta laundered $300 million in OneCoin proceeds, reportedly buying a private jet and other luxury items.

Cryptoqueen: dead or alive?

While OneCoin executives serve prison sentences for their crimes, the Cryptoqueen remains at large. Earlier reports indicated that the founder of OneCoin was last seen in Athens, Greece in 2017, with speculation that she is hiding on a yacht in the Mediterranean Sea.

Meanwhile, Bulgarian sources have stated that Ignatova may have been brutally killed in 2018, on the orders of a local drug lord. In June 2022, she was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, and authorities offered a reward of $100,000 for information leading to her arrest.