In mid-April, news.Bitcoin.com reported on the unsealed indictment tied to the Onecoin cofounder Sebastian Greenwood. At the same time, U.S. Judge Valerie Caproni had placed a stay order on the case against Greenwood, Konstantin Ignatov, Mark Scott and David Pike. Now Judge Caproni has lifted the stay and the court case against the defendants can proceed.
Onecoin Lawsuit in New York Continues – Stay Order Lifted
Court filings show that Judge Valerie Caproni has lifted the stay order, that temporarily suspended the case against the defendants Sebastian Greenwood, Konstantin Ignatov, David Pike and Mark Scott. According to court documents, Pike is being charged for bank fraud tethered to the Onecoin Ponzi’s operations. Documents also detail that the former attorney Scott is accused of laundering $400 million for Onecoin and the founder Ruja Ignatova, otherwise known as the ‘crypto queen.’ Ignatova remains at large but Scott, Pike, Greenwood, and the crypto queen’s brother Konstantin Ignatov have all been arrested. The lifted stay order states:
I Valerie Caproni, United States District Judge, whereas on May 1, 2020, the parties appeared for a teleconference with this Court; It is hereby ordered that the stay on this case is lifted. No later than May 8, 2020, the parties must jointly submit a proposed schedule for Defendants to answer, move to dismiss, or otherwise respond to the Amended Complaint.
Defendants Object to Stay Lift and the Relentless Search for the Crypto Queen
The reason behind the original stay is not confirmed, but many believe it had to do with the Covid-19 outbreak and the unsealed indictment stemming from Greenwood’s charges. Another court filing that was submitted on April 27, shows Scott and Pike have objected to the lift and they are hoping Judge Caproni favors their arguments. In the court filing written by the law firm Levi & Korsinsky LLP, most of the participants don’t seem to mind continuing a stay order “pending a final resolution of the criminal cases currently pending against each of them.” Moreover, the attorneys also said: Defendant Konstantin Ignatov’s Position: Defendant Konstantin Ignatov does not object to the continued stay of the proceedings requested by his co-defendants.
Some people believe that the stay was due to the 2017 disappearance of Ruja Ignatova. The hunt for the crypto queen has been relentless as the police and even armchair detectives have been hunting down her whereabouts. Investigators have searched for known friends, old phone numbers, and previous addresses. Ignatova was known to visit Schramberg, in Southern Germany often and she allegedly married a German as well. The town of Waltenhofen in Bavaria has been combed as well and people are searching Frankfurt on a regular basis too. This is due to the fact that the crypto queen loved Frankfurt and she had a daughter in the city back in 2016. Allegedly Ignatova’s former husband and biological daughter may still live in the German region.
During the hunt for Ignatova’s whereabouts, in April a report disclosed that a new Onecoin spinoff was created by one of the top members of Ignatova’s ranks. Le Quoc-Hung, otherwise known as Simon Le has allegedly started a project called Onelink. Law enforcement officials stumbled upon the Onelink project and Simon Le’s involvement while searching for the crypto queen. The website that uncovers a number of Ponzi operations, behindmlm.com notes that investigators think Le is hiding out in Vietnam or Dubai. Despite the aggressive search for Ignatova, global law enforcement has not found many clues to where she may be hiding. Konstantin Ignatov, her brother, has alluded to the possibility she is in Russia or Greece during his testimony a few months ago.
What do you think about Judge Valerie Caproni continuing the Onecoin case? Let us know in the comments section below.
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