A German citizen accused of defrauding investors of $4 billion by selling a fake cryptocurrency called OneCoin has been added to the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, US officials said Thursday. fair (30).
Ruja Ignatova, also known as “Cryptoqueen,” was charged in 2019 with eight counts, including wire fraud and securities fraud, for running Bulgaria-based OneCoin Ltd as a pyramid scheme. Prosecutors say the company offered commissions to members to entice others to buy a worthless cryptocurrency.
Ruja Ignatova is the newest addition to the #FBI‘s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List. she she’s #wanted is allegedly leading a fraud scheme that affected millions of investors worldwide. We’re offering a reward of up to $100,000 for her info leading to her arrest. https://t.co/5mk0NccE7x pic.twitter.com/xKoj0RN6BZ
— FBI (@FBI) June 30, 2022
“She timed her scheme perfectly, capitalizing on the frenzied speculation of the cryptocurrency’s early days,” said Damian Williams, Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor.
Williams described OneCoin as “one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in history”.
Ignatova disappeared in late 2017 after bugging an apartment belonging to her American boyfriend and discovering he was cooperating with an FBI investigation into OneCoin, Williams said. She boarded a flight from Bulgaria to Greece and has not been seen since, he said.
The FBI is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to Ignatova’s capture, said Michael Driscoll, the FBI’s assistant director in New York.
Driscoll declined to comment on any clues as to where Ignatova might be. The agency adds fugitives to its most-wanted list when it believes the public can help track down suspects.
“She walked away with a huge amount of money,” Driscoll told reporters. “Money can buy a lot of friends, and I imagine she’s taking advantage of that.”
Ignatova was charged alongside Mark Scott, a former corporate attorney who, according to prosecutors, laundered around $400 million for OneCoin. Scott was found guilty of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit bank fraud after a three-week trial in Manhattan federal court.
Source: CNN Brasil
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