TLDR
- The Department of Justice opened a compensation process for OneCoin victims on April 13, 2026.
- More than $40 million in forfeited assets is available for eligible claims.
- Claimants must have purchased OneCoin between 2014 and 2019 and recorded a net loss.
- The deadline to file a OneCoin forgiveness claim is June 30.
- Carl Sebastian Greenwood was sentenced to 20 years in prison, while Ruja Ignatova remains missing.
The US Department of Justice has opened a compensation process for victims of the OneCoin fraud scheme, using assets recovered through forfeiture proceedings linked to the case. More than $40 million is now available to eligible claimants who purchased OneCoin between 2014 and 2019 and recorded a net loss. This step represents a new stage in one of the largest cryptocurrency fraud cases pursued by US authorities. It also gives former investors a formal path to partial recovery after years of investigations, prosecutions and asset seizures.
The Department of Justice begins a remission process for eligible OneCoin investors
Ministry of Justice He said The forgiveness process is now active for victims of the OneCoin scheme. According to the announcement, people who purchased OneCoin from 2014 to 2019 may be eligible for compensation if they suffer a net loss. The deadline to submit a petition is June 30.
The ministry said that more than $40 million in confiscated assets had been allocated to this operation. Victims can file claims through the Forgiveness website or request a petition form through the official handling the case. Kroll Settlement Management LLC serves as the forgiveness administrator.
US Attorney Jay Clayton said the process is an important step towards returning money to affected investors. Assistant Public Prosecutor A. Thyssen Duva also said the department uses forfeiture procedures to remove profits from crime and return money to victims wherever possible. The remission process is managed by the Money Laundering, Narcotics and Confiscation Section of the Criminal Division.
This case remains one of the most widely known fraud cases associated with the cryptocurrency sector. The Justice Department said OneCoin’s founders and their partners marketed a fraudulent cryptocurrency through a global multi-level marketing network and collected more than $4 billion from investors around the world.
OneCoin grew rapidly before the authorities dismantled the scheme
OneCoin was launched in 2014 by Ruja Ignatova and Karl Sebastian Greenwood in Sofia, Bulgaria. It was promoted as a major cryptocurrency project and marketed as a competitor to Bitcoin. The operation expanded internationally and entered the United States around 2015.
Authorities later said the coin had no real benefit and that investors were misled by false claims about the business and its technologies. The Justice Department estimates the scheme took more than $4 billion from investors between 2014 and the end of 2016. Other public estimates have put total global losses much higher.
Warnings about One Coin It appeared before the complete collapse. Several central banks, including those in Latvia, Sweden and Norway, warned the public that the offer showed signs of a potential Ponzi scheme. Bulgarian police later raided the company’s headquarters in 2018.
Greenwood was arrested and later sentenced to 20 years in prison in September 2023 for his role in the fraud. Ignatova disappeared in 2017 and is still missing. The FBI has placed her on its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list and is offering a reward for information leading to her arrest and conviction.
The recovery of assets remains limited compared to the total losses of investors
While the compensation process gives victims a path to seek repayment, the amount available is far less than the extent of the losses associated with OneCoin. The current pool of more than $40 million covers only a small share of the billions that investors have reported lost around the world.
Federal officials said the recovery of victims remains a priority in financial fraud cases. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the IRS led the criminal investigation, with support from the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs. Investigators tracked down and seized assets linked to the scheme as part of broader enforcement efforts.
The department also said that its asset forfeiture program has returned more than $12.5 billion in seized assets to crime victims since 2000. Regarding the OneCoin issue, the recovery work has now moved to the compensation phase. For previous investors, the operation offers an opportunity to recover part of their losses, while the search for Ruja Ignatova continues.
