An attorney representing Irinia Dilkinska, who held the position of “head of legal and compliance” at OneCoin, has requested that she be given credit for time served in relation to her involvement in the cryptocurrency scheme.
John Buza, in a filing made on March 20th in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, submitted a memorandum to the judge, appealing for leniency on behalf of Dilkinska. In November 2023, she had pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Buza stated, “I respectfully argue that any sentence beyond time served would be excessive. Ms. Dilkinska’s unique role in this case, coupled with the dire circumstances she currently finds herself in, all indicate that a sentence of time served is appropriate.”
Dilkinska admitted to laundering money for OneCoin alongside co-founders Karl Sebastian Greenwood and Ruja Ignatova, who is also known as the ‘Cryptoqueen.’ OneCoin was established in 2014 but was exposed as a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme in 2015, resulting in investors losing approximately $4 billion.
In September 2023, Greenwood was sentenced to 20 years in prison and ordered to pay $300 million in restitution to the victims of OneCoin. Ignatova, however, remains at large.
According to the U.S. Justice Department, Dilkinska’s guilty plea carries a maximum potential sentence of 10 years in prison. In January, Mark Scott, a lawyer for OneCoin who was convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in November 2019, received a 10-year prison sentence.
Prior to Dilkinska’s sentencing, her legal team submitted letters from friends and family in support of her. Buza highlighted her good behavior while incarcerated and her role as a “loving wife and mother,” arguing that any sentence beyond time served “would risk causing a significant injustice.”
In March, Judge Edgardo Ramos handed down a sentence of time served to Konstantin Ignatov, the brother of the Cryptoqueen, following his 34-month imprisonment. Ignatov had pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering and fraud in 2019.
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