Cryptocurrency crisis affects digital assets 1:09
(Reuters) --
A German citizen dubbed a "crypto queen" accused of defrauding investors of $4 billion by selling a fake cryptocurrency called OneCoin has been added to the FBI's 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list. , as reported on Thursday by US authorities.
Ruja Ignatova, also known as "Cryptoqueen" (cryptoqueen, or queen of cryptos), was indicted in 2019 on eight counts including wire fraud and financial fraud for running the Bulgaria-based company OneCoin Ltd as a pyramid scheme.
Prosecutors say the company offered commissions to members to entice others to buy worthless cryptocurrency.
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"She timed her scheme perfectly, capitalizing on the frenzied speculation of the early days of crypto," said Damian Williams, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan.
The FBI is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Ruja Ignatova.
Williams described OneCoin as “one of the biggest pyramid schemes in history”.
Ignatova disappeared in late 2017 after bugging an apartment of her American boyfriend and learning he was cooperating with an FBI investigation into OneCoin, Williams said.
She boarded a flight from Bulgaria to Greece and has not been seen since, she said.
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The FBI is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to Ignatova's capture, said Michael Driscoll, deputy director of the FBI in New York.
Driscoll declined to comment on any leads to Ignatova's whereabouts.
The agency includes fugitives on its most wanted list when it believes the public can help locate suspects.
"He walked away with a tremendous amount of cash," Driscoll told reporters.
"Money can buy a lot of friends, and I imagine she's taking advantage of that."
Ignatova was charged alongside Mark Scott, a former corporate lawyer who prosecutors say laundered around $400 million for OneCoin.
Scott was convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit bank fraud after a three-week trial in federal court in Manhattan.
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