Former
Locke
Lord
partner,
Mark
Scott,
was convicted
in
2019
on
federal
conspiracy
to
commit
bank
fraud
and
conspiracy
to
launder
money
charges.
Last
year,
Scott
was
sentenced
to
10
years
in
prison
for
his
role
in
the
$400
million
cryptocurrency
scheme
and
was
ordered
to
turn
over
$392
million
in
assets.
As
with
most
convictions,
Scott
appealed.
Yesterday,
an
appeals
court
upheld
Scott’s
conviction
and
sentence,
rejecting
Scott’s
claims
that
he
was
unaware
of
the
nature
of
the
OneCoin
fraud.
Scott
left
his
international
mergers
and
acquisitions
and
private
equity
practice
in
Biglaw
to
work
at
OneCoin,
and
prosecutors
say
he
had
a
key
role
in
the
plot
to
launder
$400
million
from
the
cryptocurrency.
According
to
the
government,
Scott
created
shell
companies,
offshore
accounts,
and
fraudulent
investment
funds
on
behalf
of
OneCoin
to
launder
money
in
what
has
been
described
as,
“classic
Ponzi
scheme
with
no
blockchain
or
real
underlying
technology.”
Prosecutors
said
Scott
made
bank
for
his
role
at
OneCoin,
even
bragging
about
making
$50
million
before
he
was
50
years
old.
U.S.
Attorney
Damian
Williams
said,
“Indeed,
Scott
accomplished
his
goal,
but
by
fraud
and
deception,
and
will
now
spend
a
decade
in
prison
and
has
been
ordered
to
forfeit
all
of
his
illegal
proceeds.”
In
2017,
as
the
scheme
was
unraveling
and
the
investigation
into
OneCoin
was
heating
up,
“Cryptoqueen”
Ruja
Ignatova
(the
founder
of
OneCoin)
disappeared
after
boarding
a
plane
to
Athens.
Theories
have
circulated
that
Ignatova
was
murdered
on
the
orders
of
Hristoforos
Nikos
Amanatidis,
known
as
Taki,
an
underworld
figure
also
linked
to
Ignatova’s
escape.
She
remains
on
the
FBI’s
10
most
wanted
list,
and
the
agency
has
said
they
operate
on
the
assumption
Ignatova
is
alive.
Earlier: Former
Biglaw
Partner
Sentenced
To
10
Years
In
Prison
For
Crypto
Scam
Former
Biglaw
Partner
Convicted
In
Cryptocurrency
Scam
Former
Biglaw
Partner
Indicted
On
Charges
Related
To
Cryptocurrency
Ponzi
Scheme
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
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