The U.S. Department of Justice has opened a federal compensation program backed by more than $40 million in seized assets to reimburse victims of the OneCoin scam.
Who’s eligible
The program is aimed at investors who suffered net losses from OneCoin between 2014 and 2019. According to the DOJ, the forfeited funds will be distributed to those harmed by the scheme as part of ongoing recovery and restitution efforts.
How big the fraud was
Prosecutors say OneCoin—marketed as a “Bitcoin killer”—defrauded roughly 3.5 million people and took in more than $4 billion worldwide. Some independent estimates put total global losses at up to $19 billion, but the DOJ’s compensation pool is drawn from assets seized from individuals tied to the project rather than any worldwide estimate of investor losses.
DOJ reaction
A DOJ statement called the compensation fund “an important step toward returning funds to those harmed,” and emphasized that while recovered assets cannot undo the damage, federal prosecutors will continue seizing criminal proceeds and prioritizing payouts to victims.
Background on the scheme and prosecutions
OneCoin was created in Bulgaria and promoted by a network led by Ruja Ignatova and Karl Sebastian Greenwood. At its peak the project was presented as a leading digital asset, but it lacked real blockchain technology or usable tokens and ultimately collapsed as a fraud.
The project had attracted regulatory scrutiny years before its downfall: central banks in Latvia, Sweden, and Norway issued public warnings that OneCoin resembled a Ponzi scheme well before Bulgarian authorities raided the operation’s headquarters in 2018. Greenwood was later arrested and, in late 2023, sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.
Where the key suspects stand
Ruja Ignatova, who styled herself the “Cryptoqueen,” disappeared after a flight to Athens in October 2017 and remains at large. She is currently listed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list, with a $5 million reward offered for information leading to her arrest.
What this means for victims
Victims can now apply for restitution through the DOJ program to recover a share of the seized funds. The fund represents a concrete recovery step in one of the largest crypto-related frauds in history, though it will not fully cover the total losses many investors suffered. Federal authorities say they will continue pursuing additional assets and avenues for compensation.
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