A OneCoin Founder Pleads Guilty to Scam-Related Charges

According to the U.S Department of Justice, one of the founders of OneCoin, Karl Greenwood, pled guilty to federal U.S. charges on Friday following one of the greatest financial hoaxes of all time.

Prosecutors said that the alleged cryptocurrency project was false from its inception in 2014, with OneCoin - co-founded by Karl Greenwood - establishing a pyramid system to advertise it to millions of people, generating up to $4 billion in revenue. Greenwood, 45, pled guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to launder money after reportedly calling the investors "idiots" in an internal message.

Karl Sebastian Greenwood was the mastermind behind one of the most massive international fraud operations ever undertaken. Greenwood and his co-conspirators, including fugitive Ruja Ignatova, scammed naive victims out of billions of dollars, saying that OneCoin would be the 'bitcoin killer', according to a U.S attorney.

Ignatova, also known as the "CryptoQueen," is still on the FBI's Most Wanted list as another creator of OneCoin, which was based in Bulgaria. For information leading to her capture, the FBI is offering a $100,000 reward.

Greenwood was detained in Thailand in 2018 and extradited to the United States.