DOJ Opens $40 Million Restitution Fund for OneCoin Victims

DOJ Opens Restitution Window

The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a formal compensation program for victims of the OneCoin Ponzi scheme. The initiative allows individuals who lost money to the fraudulent cryptocurrency project to seek restitution from a $40 million fund. This capital stems from assets seized by federal authorities during their long-running investigation into the operation.

Investors globally poured billions into the enterprise, which marketed itself as a legitimate rival to Bitcoin (BTC). Instead, it functioned as a massive multi-level marketing scam. The DOJ program now provides a rare path for those affected to recover a portion of their losses.

The Scale of the Fraud

OneCoin operated as a global pyramid scheme, convincing participants to purchase educational packages that included tokens for the purported cryptocurrency. Prosecutors revealed that the company generated $4 billion in revenue from victims worldwide. The project lacked a functional blockchain, as the entire system relied on manual entries rather than actual decentralized technology.

Key Figures and Convictions

• Ruja Ignatova: Known as the "Cryptoqueen," she remains a fugitive on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list.
• Karl Sebastian Greenwood: A co-founder who received a 20-year prison sentence for his role in the fraud.
• Irina Dilkinska: A former head of legal and compliance who was sentenced to four years in federal prison.