OneCoin Lawyer Involved In Laundering $400 Million Denied Fresh Trial
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.
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
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