The compensation process will benefit victims who purchased the fraudulent OneCoin cryptocurrency between 2014 and 2019, allowing them to recover funds through the federal asset forfeiture program. OneCoin co-founders Ruja Ignatova and Karl Sebastian Greenwood, along with co-conspirators, orchestrated the international investment scheme through a global multi-level-marketing network based in Sofia, Bulgaria. The Justice Department has successfully prosecuted several key figures in the Southern District of New York and recovered the assets now available for victim compensation.
"Victims are at the core of everything we do at the Department of Justice," said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's Criminal Division. "As we did in this complex investment fraud case, the Department pursues forfeiture to take the profit out of crime and then use that money to compensate victims wherever possible." OneCoin marketed and sold its fraudulent cryptocurrency through misrepresentations about the legitimacy of the digital asset, leading victims to invest billions in what prosecutors described as an elaborate Ponzi scheme.
Eligible victims must file petitions by June 30 through the remission administrator's website at www.onecoinremission.com or by contacting Kroll Settlement Administration LLC directly. The Criminal Division's Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section is managing the compensation process, which represents a fraction of the total $4 billion in victim losses. The Justice Department warned potential claimants to be cautious of scammers impersonating government officials or the remission administrator, emphasizing that no payment is required to participate in the legitimate process.
The OneCoin case exemplifies the Justice Department's broader effort to combat cryptocurrency fraud through its Asset Forfeiture Program, which has returned more than $12.5 billion to crime victims since 2000. Several key figures in the scheme have already been sentenced following prosecutions in the Southern District of New York, though Ignatova remains a fugitive on the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted list. The investigation involved coordination between the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the Justice Department's Office of International Affairs.
"Between 2014 and 2019, OneCoin's founders sold a lie disguised as cryptocurrency, costing victims more than $4 billion worldwide," said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York. "Today's announcement marks an important step toward returning funds to those harmed. While no recovery can fully undo the damage, our Office will continue working to seize criminal proceeds and prioritize getting money back into the hands of victims."
The FBI continues its pursuit of Ignatova, who remains at large despite being added to the bureau's Most Wanted list. "Our office will continue its investigative pursuit of these criminal fraudsters — especially locating Ruja Ignatova, an FBI Top Ten Fugitive," said Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle Jr of the FBI New York Field Office. The agency maintains an active tipline for information about the fugitive co-founder.
The compensation process represents one of the largest cryptocurrency fraud victim recovery efforts by federal authorities, though the $40 million available represents only a small fraction of the total losses. The Justice Department's approach demonstrates its commitment to using criminal asset forfeiture as both a deterrent and a mechanism for victim recovery in complex financial fraud cases involving emerging technologies.