Justice Department Opens Compensation Process for OneCoin Fraud Victims

TLDR

• The DOJ opened a compensation process for OneCoin victims on April 13, 2026.
• More than $40 million in forfeited assets is available for eligible claims.
• Claimants must have bought OneCoin between 2014 and 2019 and recorded a net loss.
• The deadline to file a OneCoin remission claim is June 30.
• Karl Sebastian Greenwood was sentenced to 20 years, while Ruja Ignatova remains missing.

The U.S. Department of Justice has opened a compensation process for victims of the OneCoin fraud scheme, using assets recovered through forfeiture actions tied to the case. More than $40 million is now available for eligible claimants who bought OneCoin between 2014 and 2019 and recorded a net loss. The move marks a new stage in one of the largest crypto-related fraud cases pursued by U.S. authorities. It also gives former investors a formal route to seek partial recovery after years of investigations, prosecutions, and asset seizures.

DOJ begins remission process for eligible OneCoin investors

The Justice Department said the remission process is now active for victims of the OneCoin scheme. According to the announcement, people who purchased OneCoin during the 2014 to 2019 period may qualify for compensation if they suffered a net loss. The deadline to file a petition is June 30.

The department said more than $40 million in forfeited assets has been set aside for this process. Victims can submit claims through the remission website or request a petition form through the administrator handling the case. Kroll Settlement Administration LLC is serving as the remission administrator.

U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said the process is an important step toward returning money to harmed investors. Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva also said the department uses forfeiture actions to remove profits from crime and return funds to victims where possible. The remission process is being managed by the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics, and Forfeiture Section.

The case remains one of the most widely known fraud matters linked to the cryptocurrency sector. The Justice Department said OneCoin founders and associates marketed a fraudulent cryptocurrency through a global multi-level-marketing network and collected more than $4 billion from investors worldwide.

OneCoin grew rapidly before authorities dismantled the scheme

OneCoin was launched in 2014 by Ruja Ignatova and Karl Sebastian Greenwood in Sofia, Bulgaria. It was promoted as a major crypto project and was marketed as a rival to Bitcoin. The operation expanded internationally and entered the United States around 2015.

Authorities later said the coin had no real utility and that investors were misled by false claims about the business and its technology. The Justice Department estimates the scheme took in more than $4 billion from investors between 2014 and the end of 2016. Other public estimates have placed total global losses much higher.

Warnings about OneCoin had appeared before the full collapse. Several central banks, including those in Latvia, Sweden, and Norway, warned the public that the offering showed signs of a possible Ponzi scheme. Bulgarian police later raided the company’s headquarters in 2018.

Greenwood was arrested and later sentenced to 20 years in prison in September 2023 for his role in the fraud. Ignatova disappeared in 2017 and remains missing. The FBI has placed her on its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list and is offering a reward for information leading to her capture and conviction.

Asset recovery remains limited compared with total investor losses

While the compensation process gives victims a path to seek repayment, the amount available is far below the scale of losses tied to OneCoin. The current pool of more than $40 million covers only a small share of the billions reported lost by investors worldwide.

Federal officials said victim recovery remains a priority in financial fraud cases. The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation led the criminal probe, with support from the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs. Investigators traced and seized assets connected to the scheme as part of the broader enforcement effort.

The department also said its Asset Forfeiture Program has returned more than $12.5 billion in forfeited assets to crime victims since 2000. In the OneCoin matter, that recovery work has now moved into the compensation stage. For former investors, the process offers a chance to recover part of their losses, while the search for Ruja Ignatova continues.