Raw: [Sebastian Karl Greenwood was sentenced by a US judge for the massive scam that stole billions from investors.] BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountHomeNewsSportReelWorklifeTravelFutureMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportReelWorklifeTravelFutureCultureMusicTVWeatherSoundsClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeWar in UkraineClimateVideoWorldUS & CanadaUKBusinessTechScienceMoreEntertainment & ArtsHealthIn PicturesBBC VerifyWorld News TVNewsbeatUS & CanadaCryptoqueen: Accomplice jailed for 20 years for OneCoin financial scamPublished3 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, YouTubeImage caption, OneCoin's promoters claimed it would deliver a “financial revolution”By Max MatzaBBC NewsA co-founder of the fraudulent OneCoin cryptocurrency has been sentenced to serve 20 years in a US prison.Sebastian Karl Greenwood colluded with others, including the so-called “Cryptoqueen” who is now on the FBI's top 10 Most Wanted list, officials say. They are accused of scamming more than $4bn (£3.2bn) from investors. Greenwood, 46, a citizen of the UK and Sweden, was arrested in Thailand in July 2018. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering in December. Officials say OneCoin, which was founded in 2014 in Bulgaria, functioned as a global pyramid scheme. Greenwood started and ran the company with Ruja Ignatova, the so-called Cryptoqueen who has not been seen since vanishing in Greece in 2017.OneCoin sought to benefit from the success of Bitcoin, officials say, and “used the notoriety of Bitcoin to convince investors that OneCoin was the next 'can't miss' investment opportunity”.”In reality, unlike legitimate cryptocurrencies, OneCoin had no actual value and was conceived of by Greenwood and Ignatova as a fraud from day one,” prosecutors with the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said in a news release on Tuesday. The mystery of the disappearing 'Cryptoqueen'Revealed: The Cryptoqueen's £13.5m London penthouseThe statement claimed that together, they “operated one of the largest fraud schemes ever perpetrated”.”We hope this lengthy sentence resonates in the financial sector and deters anyone who may be tempted to lie to investors and exploit the cryptocurrency ecosystem through fraud,” said US Attorney Damian Williams.The sentence on Tuesday was handed down by a federal judge in Manhattan. Prosecutors say many OneCoin victims were from the New York region.Image source, OneCoin/YouTubeImage caption, A BBC podcast about OneCoin's missing co-founder Dr Ruja Ignatova has drawn attention to the schemeThe BBC podcast The Missing Cryptoqueen has been documenting the search for Dr Ignatova, the original public face of OneCoin. Listen to The Missing Cryptoqueen podcastThe ex-McKinsey consultant had appeared at numerous events and on social media to promote the scheme. But she disappeared from view around October 2017 and there has not been a confirmed sighting since.The FBI has offered up to $250,000 for information leading to her arrest, according to the FBI's Most Wanted website. Her FBI profile says she “is believed to travel with armed guards” and “may have had plastic surgery or otherwise altered her appearance”.Related TopicsFBINew YorkUnited StatesCryptocurrencyMore on this story'Missing Cryptoqueen' adviser disappearsPublished9 JuneOneCoin lawyer on trial for role in 'crypto-scam'Published4 November 2019Death threats for currency 'scam' whistleblowerPublished15 October 2019The mystery of the disappearing 'Cryptoqueen'Published26 September 2019Revealed: The Cryptoqueen's £13.5m London penthousePublished3 November 2021Top StoriesTsunami-like flood drags people into sea in LibyaPublished2 hours agoUS House to open Biden impeachment inquiryPublished3 hours agoTantalising sign of possible life on faraway worldPublished12 hours agoFeatures'If we don't work quickly, people will die'What we know about the Biden impeachment caseOlivia Rodrigo: 'God, what a crazy trajectory'Crushed Palestinian hopes 30 years after Oslo accordsThe app teaching Somalis to read and writeMemoir reveals new JFK assassination detailPhotographs that shaped the urban landscapeFive things you really need to know about AI. 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