In a recent ruling, the German court has imposed significant prison sentences on key figures involved in the infamous OneCoin crypto MLM fraud. Frank Ricketts has been sentenced to five years, while his wife, Manon Hubenthal, received a four-year sentence. Additionally, the disgraced attorney Martin Breidenbach, who assisted the couple in laundering funds from the Ponzi scheme, was sentenced to two years and nine months.
Indictments and Trial
The Bielefeld Public Prosecutor’s Office indicted Ricketts, Hubenthal, and Breidenbach in November 2020. Despite initial delays, the trial commenced in September 2021, eventually extending over two years. During this period, a judge advised Ricketts to plead guilty based on the evidence presented. The specifics of Ricketts’ sentencing, including any monetary component, remain unconfirmed.
The Scale of Fraud
The Münster Regional Court found the couple guilty of collecting around €320 million from approximately 90,000 European customers through OneCoin. The Munich-based lawyer was implicated in transferring a portion of this sum to overseas accounts. The couple, based in Greven, were significant players in the European operations of the global OneCoin scam, deceiving customers to the tune of three billion euros.
Legal Proceedings and Sentences
The court convicted the German couple and the Munich lawyer for their roles in nearly 13,000 fraudulent cases. The couple was found to have established a company specifically for these transactions and engaged with OneCoin‘s mastermind, Ruja Ignatova. The court ordered the confiscation of substantial sums from the convicted individuals, reflecting their varying roles in the scheme.
Trial Highlights
The Münster trial, lasting three years and spanning 43 days of hearings, illuminated the fraudulent mechanics of OneCoin. Customers were misled into purchasing worthless cryptocurrency shares under the guise of a mining opportunity, accompanied by fictitious value increases. Despite claims of ignorance about the full extent of the scam, the court was convinced of the defendants’ awareness of its fraudulent nature.
Additional Convictions and Pleas
This case adds to a series of convictions related to OneCoin. Notably, Mark S. Scott, a former equity partner at Locke Lord LLP, was convicted in connection with laundering $400 million from OneCoin proceeds.
The former “Cryptoqueen” Ruja Ignatova, the co-founder and frontwoman of OneCoin, has been missing since 2017 and is on the FBI’s top 10 most wanted list.
In October 2019, her brother, Konstantin Ignatov, struck a plea deal with the U.S. government. Additionally, Karl Sebastian Greenwood, co-founder of OneCoin, pled guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges in December 2022. Irina Dilkinska, former Head of Compliance of OneCoin, also pleaded guilty to similar charges in November 2023.
The former boyfriend an partner of fugitive “Cryptoqueen” Ignatova, Gilbert Armenta, was sentenced to five years in prison for laundering $300 million in proceeds of the fraud.
