Mark Scott, a lawyer convicted of laundering $400 million from the OneCoin scam, has been denied a new trial, despite allegations of legal errors and false testimony during his 2019 trial.
54-year-old lawyer Mark Scott, convicted of laundering $400 million from the OneCoin scam, has had his motion for a new trial denied. Scott argued that he was unaware of OneCoin’s fraudulent nature when he set up the fund used to launder money for OneCoin’s founder, Ruja “Cryptoqueen” Ignatov. In 2019, he was found guilty of money laundering and bank fraud conspiracy, having earned $50 million through a fraudulent fund linked to OneCoin.
Allegations of False Testimony
Scott’s legal team sought a new trial, pointing to false testimony from a government witness, Konstantin Ignatov, during the original trial. Ignatov had admitted to assisting his sister Ruja in the OneCoin fraud. However, Judge Edgardo Ramos, in a hearing on September 18, was unconvinced that an innocent person had been wrongly convicted, leading to the denial of a new trial.
Despite the setback, Scott’s lawyers intend to appeal the decision, asserting that their client was disappointed by the court’s refusal to grant a new trial, given the clear evidence of the government’s key cooperating witness perjuring himself.
OneCoin Scam
OneCoin, initially presented as a cryptocurrency similar to Bitcoin, was revealed to be a pyramid scheme. It attracted users with false claims of high future earnings. Scott was accused of using the $50 million in OneCoin proceeds to finance a lavish lifestyle, including luxury homes, watches, sports cars, and a yacht.
Sentencing of Co-Founder
In a related case, Karl Greenwood, co-founder of OneCoin, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in the United States for charges including fraud and money laundering. Ruja Ignatov, OneCoin’s founder, remains on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Ten Most Wanted List and has not been seen since October 2017.
