U.S. DOJ Opens $40M OneCoin Compensation Claims for Fraud Victims

Highlights:

• Victims can apply for OneCoin compensation before the June deadline to recover lost funds.
• OneCoin took over $4 billion from investors and affected millions across different countries.
• Authorities recovered assets and are still searching for those behind the scheme.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Monday that it has opened a compensation process for victims of the OneCoin fraud scheme. The Department of Justice said that more than $40 million in forfeited assets will be used to compensate eligible OneCoin victims. The process targets individuals who purchased OneCoin between 2014 and 2019 and recorded net financial losses. The Department of Justice set June 30 as the deadline for victims to submit compensation claims.

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The US DOJ opens a $40M compensation process for victims of the OneCoin crypto fraud.

OneCoin stole over $4B from 3.5 million victims between 2014 and 2019. pic.twitter.com/uzqZP3XNPp

— Token Metrics (@tokenmetricsinc) April 14, 2026

The DOJ requires victims to file a petition form and submit documents that verify financial losses linked to OneCoin investments. Applicants must calculate net losses by subtracting any withdrawals or recovered funds from their total OneCoin investments.

The Department of Justice confirmed that submitting a petition for remission does not guarantee compensation for any applicant. However, the Department of Justice designed the remission process to return recovered criminal proceeds to eligible victims where possible. The Department of Justice said victims do not need legal representation and will not pay any fees to participate in the remission process.

While commenting on the development, U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton stated:

“OneCoin’s founders sold a lie disguised as cryptocurrency, costing victims more than $4 billion worldwide. Today’s announcement marks an important step toward returning funds to those harmed. Our Office will continue working to seize criminal proceeds and prioritize getting money back into the hands of victims.”

OneCoin Compensation Tied to Global Investor Losses

OneCoin operated as a global investment scheme that falsely presented itself as a legitimate cryptocurrency. Investigators said the scheme raised more than $4 billion from investors worldwide through fraudulent cryptocurrency sales. Some estimates place total losses as high as $19 billion across global markets. US authorities said the scheme caused financial losses to around 3.5 million investors across multiple countries.

The scheme operated from Sofia, Bulgaria, and expanded into the United States through aggressive global marketing. The scheme used a multi-level marketing structure to sell education packages tied to OneCoin tokens to global investors. Promoters claimed that OneCoin tokens would increase in value and compete directly with Bitcoin in global cryptocurrency markets.

Investigators later confirmed that OneCoin had no real blockchain or functional infrastructure. U.S. authorities said the platform lacked real utility and blockchain support, which led to its collapse after global scrutiny increased. Despite these findings, OneCoin promoters continued attracting investors through misleading global marketing campaigns.

Meanwhile, the DOJ is also pursuing other high-profile cases linked to cryptocurrencies, including investigations into cross-border transactions tied to sanctioned networks. U.S. investigators are reviewing crypto transfers that reportedly moved through Binance and are linked to Iranian financial networks. U.S. officials are examining whether sanctioned actors used Binance to move funds and support groups linked to Iranian networks.

Enforcement Actions And Asset Recovery In The Case

U.S. authorities arrested co-founder Karl Sebastian Greenwood for his role in promoting and operating the OneCoin fraud scheme. A U.S. court sentenced Greenwood to 20 years in prison. The prosecutors alleged that he assisted in the growth of the scheme to international markets by recruiting and promoting investors. In the meantime, the FBI had put co-founder Ruja Ignatova on its Ten Most Wanted list and had issued a reward of $5 million.

The DOJ has also undertaken major enforcement operations related to crypto-related crime apart from the OneCoin compensation case. The Department confirmed on January 29 that it assumed control of assets valued at more than $400 million under a court order from the Helix Darknet Mixer case.

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