A lawyer linked to the OneCoin cryptocurrency scheme has been handed a 10-year prison sentence by a federal judge after a hearing on January 25th.
Mark Scott, convicted in November 2019 for his involvement in laundering millions of dollars through OneCoin, faced sentencing in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The decision, as reported by Inner City Press, was made by Judge Edgardo Ramos.
Scott’s conviction stemmed from charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Despite awaiting sentencing since his conviction, prosecutors sought a 17-year term, while Scott’s defense advocated for five years. Prior to sentencing, Scott expressed remorse for the victims of OneCoin.
In his role, Scott collaborated with OneCoin’s co-founder, Ruja Ignatova, also known as “Cryptoqueen,” in facilitating money laundering. Ignatova and another co-founder, Karl Sebastian Greenwood, were implicated in the scheme, with Ignatova still evading capture at the time of writing.
Greenwood received a 20-year prison sentence in September 2023 for fraud and money laundering, coupled with a $300 million restitution order for OneCoin’s victims. Meanwhile, Irinia Dilkinska, OneCoin’s former chief compliance officer, pleaded guilty to two felony charges in November 2023, awaiting sentencing scheduled for February.
Scott’s legal team indicated plans to request bail while appealing the sentence. His case adds to a string of individuals associated with cryptocurrency firms facing substantial prison terms for alleged involvement in money laundering or fraudulent activities. Notable figures among them include former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, and former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky.