Irinia Dilkinska, the former “head of legal and compliance” for OneCoin, has requested that she be given credit for the time she has already served for her involvement in the cryptocurrency scheme. Her attorney, John Buza, submitted a memorandum to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on March 20, asking for leniency in her sentencing.
In November 2023, Dilkinska pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Buza argues that she should not receive a sentence longer than the time she has already spent in jail, as it would be excessive given her unique role in the case and the difficult circumstances she currently faces.
Dilkinska admitted to laundering money for OneCoin, a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme founded by Karl Sebastian Greenwood and Ruja Ignatova, also known as the ‘Cryptoqueen.’ OneCoin was exposed as a scam in 2015, defrauding investors of around $4 billion. Greenwood was sentenced to 20 years in prison in September 2023 and ordered to pay $300 million in restitution to the victims, while Ignatova remains at large.
The U.S. Justice Department states that Dilkinska’s guilty plea carries a maximum potential sentence of 10 years in prison. In comparison, Mark Scott, a lawyer for OneCoin who was convicted of fraud and money laundering in November 2019, received a 10-year sentence in January.
Dilkinska’s legal team submitted letters from friends and family in support of her before her sentencing. Buza emphasized her good behavior in jail and her role as a devoted wife and mother, arguing that any sentence longer than time served would result in a significant injustice.
In March, Judge Edgardo Ramos also handed down a time-served sentence for Konstantin Ignatov, the brother of the Cryptoqueen, after he had spent 34 months in prison. Ignatov had pleaded guilty to money laundering and fraud charges in 2019.
In related news, the creator of the Pink Drainer, a wallet draining crypto scam kit, has defended his creation in a recent interview.