Karl Sebastian Greenwood, a co-founder of the controversial cryptocurrency OneCoin, has been handed a 20-year prison sentence by a federal judge in New York. This judgment comes in response to what prosecutors have described as a massive $4 billion fraud case.
Greenwood, a dual citizen of Sweden and the United Kingdom, had been held in custody in New York since his arrest in Thailand back in 2018 and subsequent extradition to the United States. He pleaded guilty to charges of fraud and money laundering in December 2022. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos has ordered Greenwood to forfeit $300 million.
Greenwood was a central figure in the promotion of OneCoin, which he and Ruja Ignatova co-founded in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 2014. Ignatova, also known as the ‘Cryptoqueen,’ remains at large and is on the FBI’s top ten most-wanted list.
Prosecutors argued that Greenwood was the key promoter of OneCoin, misleading people by presenting it as the next Bitcoin, when in reality, it operated as a pyramid scheme that defrauded over 3.5 million individuals.
Despite prosecutors seeking a sentence of at least 30 years for Greenwood, the judge ultimately handed down a 20-year term. Greenwood’s defense had requested leniency, citing harsh conditions during his pretrial detention.
This sentencing development coincides with the upcoming trial of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who has pleaded not guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges related to the collapse of his cryptocurrency exchange in November 2022. Prosecutors in Manhattan are actively preparing for this trial.
