Her name is Ruja Ignatova and she became famous with her nickname “The Queen of Cryptocurrencies”, however, this 40-year-old Bulgarian woman is now wanted for her alleged role in the execution of a cryptocurrency scam known as OneCoin. For this reason, the FBI placed her on the list of the 10 most wanted people of the moment.
Federal investigators accuse the fugitive of using the scheme to defraud victims out of more than $4 billion, in a pyramid scheme since 2014.
But FBI agents say that OneCoin was worth nothing and was never safeguarded by the blockchain technology used by other cryptocurrencies.
According to allegations made by federal prosecutors, it was essentially a Ponzi scheme disguised as cryptocurrency.
“She timed her scheme perfectly, capitalizing on the frenzied speculation of the early days of cryptocurrency,” said Damian Williams, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan.
Ignatova was last seen boarding a flight from Bulgaria to Greece in 2017 and has been missing ever since and is reportedly in possession of at least $500 million, allowing her to remain a fugitive.
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