A former lawyer, Mark Scott lost his appeal after receiving a 10 year prison sentence for funding the laundering of $400 million in a huge cryptocurrency fraud known as OneCoin. A U.S. federal appeals court in Manhattan determined that there was enough evidence to support his 2019 conviction for money laundering and bank fraud.
Scott was once a lawyer for the prestigious law firm Locke Lord, but he was convicted of running fake investment firms in an attempt to hide criminal money for OneCoin’s creator, Ruja Ignatova, who is better known as the “Cryptoqueen.” Prosecutors proved otherwise, but he maintained that he had only advised on the legality of OneCoin and had no knowledge it was a scam.
Launched in 2014, OneCoin was advertised as a valuable cryptocurrency. Still, it was meaningless and was reportedly used by a global fraud scheme that bilked more than $4 billion from investors. The company misinformed people that it was always priced according to market demand when in fact its price was manufactured.
Scott, who had been trying to earn “50 by 50” (making $50 million by the age of 50) illegally, spent his money on luxury watches, cars, houses and a yacht. As penalty, the man will have to pay back nearly $393 million plus other assets such as bank accounts and cars.
Through his appeal, the court declared that Scott’s conviction and punishment wouldn’t be changed. His case is instructive amid the cryptocurrency scams happening around not to dabble in currency scams as one can suffer severe consequences.
Also read: Cardano Founder Destroys $100M ADA Memecoin Gifted by Community: Here’s Why
