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Mark Scott, a OneCoin lawyer convicted of fraud and money laundering, got bail pending an appeal of his case.
Mark Scott was convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and money laundering of millions of dollars through OneCoin. The court sentenced the OneCoin lawyer to 10 years in prison but received bail in an April 18 filing and was approved by Edgardo Ramos, a judge at the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
What Happened With OneCoin Lawyer
In an April 18 filing, Judge Edgardo Ramos granted bail to Mark Scott three months after convicting the lawyer to prison for 10 years.
In November 2019, the OneCoin lawyer was found guilty of laundering over $400 million in proceeds from the global OneCoin crypto scam. He worked with Ruja Ignatova, the co-founder of OneCoin, to launder funds along with involving in fraud and money laundering.
In a January 25, 2024 hearing, the federal judge, Edgardo Ramos, sentenced Scott to 10 years in prison for his active involvement in laundering millions of dollars.
Furthermore, the public prosecutors expected a minimum sentence of 17 years, while Scott’s legal team requested only five years in Prison. After being sentenced, Scott’s lawyer appealed for bail considering his health issue as well as no charges with violent crime.
Just after three months of sentencing, the judge approved bail.
“Based on the record before the Court, given Scott’s health conditions and because he has not been charged with a violent crime, the Court does not find that Scott is likely to flee or pose a danger to the safety of any other person or the community if allowed to remain on bail,” said Judge Ramos.
The legal questions raised by the defense about the reliability of key testimony by Konstantin Ignatov, one of the prominent faces in the OneCoin scheme, played a major role in Scott’s bail.
What About The Co-founders?
OneCoin is a Ponzi scheme co-founded by Ruja Ignatova and Karl Sebastian Greenwood in 2014. It was marketed as a cryptocurrency. It was not actively traded, nor could the coins be used for any purchasing purpose, and it still succeeded in pulling over $4 Billion between 2014 and 2016.
Challenges for OneCoinraised when entities like the Hungarian Central Bank and the Direct Selling Association in Norway began markingOneCoin as a pyramid scheme. In January 2017, the platform shut down its businesses by denying most withdrawal requests, worsening the situation.
In 2018, OneCoin faced legal troubles when Bulgarian authorities raided OneCoin’s offices, and Ruja Ignatova vanished after a warrant was issued for her arrest. Konstantin Ignatov, Ruja’s brother, took over her role but got trapped in the raiders and was arrested in 2019.
Furthermore, in September 2023, Karl Sebastian Greenwood, the co-founder of OneCoin, was sentenced to 20 years on money laundering and fraud charges, along with a penalty of $300 million. The penalty amount will be used for restitution for OneCoin victims.
Moreover, the Chief Compliance Officer, Irinia Dilkinska, who was also found guilty of a fraudulent act, was sentenced to imprisonment for four years on April 13.
Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while pursuing his post-graduation major in blockchain development. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing, along with coding. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing skills, and a reliable craft at explaining the concepts such as blockchain programming, languages and token minting. He also frequently shares technical details and performance indicators of ICOs and IDOs.
