DOJ opens $40M fund to compensate OneCoin buyers

The U.S. Department of Justice has opened a compensation process using more than $40 million in forfeited assets to reimburse people who purchased OneCoin and recorded net losses between 2014 and 2019. The Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced the fund on Monday.

The announcement says the funds were seized from some individuals tied to the operation and are now available to eligible victims. The program is intended to return criminal proceeds to purchasers who can document losses during the specified period.

U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton described the founders’ sales as “a lie disguised as cryptocurrency” and added, “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.”

OneCoin was created in Bulgaria in 2014 by Ruja Ignatova and Karl Sebastian Greenwood and began operating in U.S. markets around 2015. The program drew millions of buyers and at one point was promoted as the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Authorities later found the tokens lacked a usable blockchain and real utility; several national central banks had warned consumers about the operation.

The Justice Department estimates that from 2014 through the end of 2016 the scheme stole more than $4 billion from about 3.5 million victims, while some outside estimates put global losses higher. Bulgarian police raided OneCoin offices in 2018 and arrested Greenwood; he received a 20-year prison sentence in September 2023. Ignatova disappeared in 2017 after boarding a flight to Athens and remains at large; the FBI lists her among its Ten Most Wanted with a $5 million reward for information leading to her capture and conviction.

Officials said the forfeited assets come from certain individuals connected to OneCoin rather than the full estimated proceeds. The Justice Department has not disclosed a complete list of assets or the full claims process; the U.S. Attorney’s Office will provide instructions to potential claimants. Victims who believe they qualify will need to document purchases and net losses from 2014 through 2019 to participate in the compensation program as legal processes continue.