Ruja Ignatova, also known as “Cryptoqueen”, was indicted on eight counts in 2019, including wire fraud and securities fraud, for running Bulgaria-based OneCoin Ltd as a pyramid scheme. Prosecutors say the company offered commissions to members to entice others into buying worthless cryptocurrency.
“She timed her plan perfectly, capitalizing on the wild speculation of cryptocurrency’s early days,” said Damian Williams, Manhattan’s chief federal attorney.
Williams described OneCoin as “one of the greatest Ponzi schemes in history.”
Ignatova disappeared in late 2017 after bugging her American boyfriend’s apartment and learning he was collaborating with an FBI investigation into OneCoin, Williams said. She boarded a flight from Bulgaria to Greece and has not been seen since, he said.
The FBI has offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to Ignatova’s capture, said Michael Driscoll, deputy chief of the FBI in New York.
Driscoll declined to comment on any clues as to where Ignatova might be. The FBI puts fugitives on its Most Wanted List when it believes the public could help locate suspects.
“She left with a tremendous amount of cash,” Driscoll told reporters. “Money can buy a lot of friends, and I could imagine her taking advantage of that.”
Ignatova was charged alongside Mark Scott, a former corporate attorney who prosecutors say laundered around $400 million for OneCoin. Scott was found guilty of conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to commit bank fraud after a three-week trial in federal court in Manhattan.