In a significant development in the OneCoin cryptocurrency scam saga, Irina Dilkinska, the scheme’s former head of legal and compliance, has been sentenced to four years in prison. This sentence comes as part of the U.S. justice system’s ongoing efforts to bring to justice those involved in one of the largest cryptocurrency frauds in history.
The Verdict: A Lesson in Accountability
United States District Judge Edgardo Ramos delivered the sentence to 42-year-old Dilkinska, emphasizing her intelligence and the expectation for her to have recognized the illicit nature of her actions. Despite her plea for leniency to return to Bulgaria and care for her young children, Judge Ramos imposed a four-year jail term, a month of supervised release, and an order to forfeit $111 million as restitution.
Judge Ramos highlighted Dilkinska’s conscious involvement in the operation of the $4 billion Ponzi scheme, expressing bafflement at her continued participation despite the evident legal risks. Her guilty plea on charges of wire fraud and money laundering last November revealed her significant role in laundering millions through the fraudulent operation.
The Broader Impact: OneCoin’s Fall
Dilkinska’s sentencing is part of a broader crackdown on the executives behind the OneCoin scam, which promised guaranteed returns from a nonexistent cryptocurrency. Co-founder Karl Sebastian Greenwood received a 20-year sentence last September, with $300 million in restitution, marking a decisive action against the fraud’s architects.
OneCoin, initiated by Ruja Ignatova and Greenwood in 2014, was exposed as a fraudulent scheme without a functional blockchain, relying instead on a pyramid structure to generate funds. Despite being unveiled as a scam in 2015, OneCoin astonishingly amassed over $4.3 billion by 201
