The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is charging a Bulgarian woman with fraud for allegedly playing a role in a multibillion-dollar crypto scheme.
In a new press release, the DOJ announces fraud charges against Bulgarian national Irina Dilkinksa for allegedly being the head of the legal and compliance department of OneCoin, a $4 billion crypto-focused pyramid scheme.
As stated by U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damien Williams,
“Irina Dilkinska, the supposed Head of Legal and Compliance for the OneCoin cryptocurrency pyramid scheme, accomplished the exact opposite of her job title and allegedly enabled OneCoin to launder millions of dollars of illegal proceeds through shell companies.
Dilkinska helped perpetuate a wide-ranging scheme with millions of victims and billions of dollars in losses, and she will now face justice for her alleged crimes.”
OneCoin, which was started by “cryptoqueen” Ruga Ignatova in 2014 and marketed as a multi-level marketing firm, was found to be a pyramid scheme where members received commissions for recruiting others to purchase fraudulent cryptocurrency packages, according to the press release.
Ignatova was indicted for masterminding the scheme in 2017, but disappeared after she boarded a flight to Athens, Greece. In June 2022, she was added to the FBI’s top ten most wanted list.
Dilkinksa and her co-conspirators used shell companies to extract more funds from victims as well as launder money, according to the DOJ. She is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, both of which carry a potential maximum sentence of 20 years.
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