Mark Scott, a lawyer accused of laundering $400 million in the infamous OneCoin cryptocurrency scam in 2019 has been denied a new trial.
According to a report from Bloomberg, the motion seeking a fresh trial was declined by the court despite the defendant citing several legal mistakes including false testimony in the original trial.
Scott was found guilty of bank fraud conspiracy and money laundering in 2019 after prosecutors alleged that the lawyer earned $50 million in a wider plot to launder $400 million in a fraud scheme popularized by Ruja “Cryptoqueen” Ignatov, the OneCoin founder.
He was further accused of using the illicit proceeds of the scam, to fund a lavish lifestyle that included purchasing luxury homes, a yacht, three Porsches, etc.
Per his motion, he claims prosecution witnesses including a government witness perjured themselves in the original trial.
Konstantin Ignatov, a government witness and the brother of Runa Ignatov was said to have lied on the stand however United States District Judge Edgardo Ramos ruled against the motion for a new trial stating that he was not convinced that “an innocent person may have been convicted.”
Meanwhile, Scott’s lawyers have expressed disappointment with the ruling as their client is denied another trial opportunity amid recent revelations.
“We are disappointed that the court did not grant a new trial given the undisputed evidence that the Government’s sole cooperating witness perjured himself,” they said.
OneCoin: A rewind down memory lane
Launched in 2014, OneCoin was touted as a potential rival to Bitcoin with promises of high earnings to investors. However, it is now famous for being one of the biggest pyramid schemes.
Over 3.5 million people were defrauded in a scheme that raked in over $4 billion. A shocking revelation was that the coin was marketed to global investors and had no actual value.
On Sept 12, Karl Greenwood the co-founder of OneCoin was sentenced to 20 years in prison including a fine of $300 million after he was accused of making a 5% commission on OneCoin transactions.
He has been held in custody since 2018 after being extradited from Thailand and pleaded guilty to the charges.
“Cryptoqueen” remains untraceable
Dubbed the crypto queen, Ruja Ignatov has been on the run in the aftermath of the OneCoin meltdown.
She has not been seen since October 2017 after she boarded a plane to Greece and remains on the FBI’s 10 most wanted list with a $100,000 whistleblower reward.
There have been reports of her demise despite recent developments linking her to a property in London.
Although she remains at large, several co-conspirators have been arrested including Greenwood, Irina Dilkinska, the former head of legal, and Christopher Hamilton, an associate of the ‘crypto queen.’
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