Gilbert Armenta, the ex-boyfriend of crypto pyramid Onecoin’s founder Ruja Ignatova, has been sentenced in the United States. According to court documents, he helped launder $300 million of proceeds from one of the largest Ponzi schemes in crypto history. In 2018, Armenta, now 59, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud, money laundering and extortion, all in connection with Onecoin. He cooperated with prosecutors in the investigation into the scam for about two years but later committed other crimes, violating the agreement.
The conviction was handed down in the SDNY Courts in New York. The 59-year-old was formerly involved with Ruja Ignatova, the con artist responsible for bilking investors out of over $4 billion. Preliminary findings suggested Armenta may spend up to seven years in prison. However, due to his guilty plea for laundering money, blackmail, and wire fraud in 2018, his sentence was mitigated.
Matthew Lee, leader of the public interest group Inner City News clarified the defendant’s legal situation. Armenta allegedly bought a private jet and other high-end goods with the $300 million he laundered. After making a deal with the authorities to sell the plane, he broke his word and stole $5 million. Moreover, Ignatova’s ex-boyfriend bribed Mexican businesses and gambled away money stolen from OneCoin users.
Armenta’s counsel argued that his client was not violent, and that his difficulties stemmed from his “romantic relationship” with the “Cryptoqueen.” “She drilled into his apartment and hired a couple to live next to him and spy on him,” she apparently said. Armenta also purchased a Georgian bank, where Ignatova was already a customer.
The defendant requested that his sentence be served at FCI Miami Federal Prison, a low-security correctional facility for male offenders. The magistrates have yet to determine whether or not to grant the request. OneCoin, a fraudulent cryptocurrency pyramid scheme founded in Bulgaria in 2014, stole more than $4 billion from millions of people between its establishment and 2016. Its owners solicited investors to purchase “educational packages” for digital asset trading ranging in price from 100 to 118,000 euros.
Those who made a purchase received OneCoin tokens, which could be swapped for currency on a specifically constructed internal marketplace. The venue set daily selling limitations based on the type of package purchased by each investor, limiting the number of coins that may be swapped.
Prosecutors in the city of Bielefeld have accused a German lawyer who worked for Ignatova, Martin Breidenbach, of money laundering for the transfer of €20 million (over $21 million) for the purchase of the four-bedroom apartment. In October, he appeared in court, along with two Onecoin associates, to face charges of fraud and other crimes.
