The ex-boyfriend of fugitive Ruja Ignatova (also called Cryptoqueen) was sentenced to 5 years in jail for laundering $300 million in earnings from traders of the bogus crypto enterprise, OneCoin.
Gilbert Armenta, who held a number of necessary posts within the OneCoin enterprise, was convicted of actively partaking in a scheme that embezzled traders out of thousands and thousands of {dollars}.
He pled responsible in 2018 to conspiring to commit wire fraud, cash laundering, and extortion in relation to the OneCoin challenge.
Armenta aided prosecutors in unraveling the rip-off for 2 years whereas committing further felonies, compelling authorities to hunt a lengthier jail time period.
Cryptoqueen And Her Pretend Digital Foreign money
In 2014, Ignatova, a Bulgarian nationwide, launched OneCoin, a $4 billion multilevel advertising and marketing fraud based mostly on a faux cryptocurrency.
OneCoin was marketed as a digital foreign money that will rework the monetary business, and its promoters claimed that it was backed by gold reserves and utilized blockchain know-how presupposed to be higher than Bitcoin.
OneCoin’s proponents asserted that the foreign money had a set amount of 120 billion cash and that it’ll change into one of many world’s most respected cryptocurrencies.
Ruja Ignatova a.okay.a. Cryptoqueen. Picture: BBC
As well as, they assured substantial returns to traders who bought the cash and marketed them by multi-level advertising and marketing schemes through which members earned commissions for recruiting new traders.
However, OneCoin was revealed to be a Ponzi scheme that was not supported by blockchain know-how or precise cryptocurrency.
Cryptoqueen Boyfriend Aided In Cash Laundering
Its founders amassed billions of {dollars} from traders worldwide. The fraud resulted within the lack of the life financial savings of quite a few traders.
Armenta’s conviction is the newest transfer within the prolonged investigation into OneCoin, which has been described as one of many largest and most subtle frauds in historical past.
Picture: IRTIS
Picture: IRTISArmenta was accused of aiding Ignatova in cash laundering and evading justice in relation to the fraudulent enterprise. The sentencing is a reduction for the thousands and thousands of traders who had been duped by the fraud, a lot of whom have but to obtain their a refund.
Between its launch and 2016, OneCoin defrauded thousands and thousands of individuals to the tune of about $4 billion. The corporate’s founders solicited traders to buy academic packages for buying and selling digital property ranging in value from 100 to 118,000 euros.
Crypto complete market cap at $1 trillion on the each day chart | Chart: TradingView.com
Cryptoqueen: One Of FBI’s Most Needed Fugitives
In 2017, Ignatova, branded by the BBC as “the girl who scammed the world,” was final seen in Athens, Greece. Some reviews claimed that she might have hidden on a luxurious yacht within the Mediterranean Sea with a good portion of the stolen monies.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) joined the seek for the Cryptoqueen by inserting her on its checklist of the “10 Most Needed Fugitives.” As well as, the company provided a $100,000 reward for info resulting in her location and arrest.
-Featured picture from The Unbiased