A key player in the OneCoin scam has seen his sentence deferred by a U.S. court, due to ongoing cooperation with law enforcement authorities.
Konstantin Ignatov was due to be sentenced on Wednesday, facing a maximum prison sentence of 90 years. However, the court deferred sentencing without imposing a future date, as he continues to work with prosecutors in advancing the case against the scheme, Inner City Press reported.
The deferral came at the request of prosecutors, who asked for a period of an additional four months for the adjourned hearing. Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said, “Because the defendant’s cooperation is not yet complete, the Government respectfully requests that the sentencing control date be adjourned for approximately four months.”
According to the publicly available court calendar, another case is now being heard in the time slot scheduled for Ignatov’s sentencing, which is being reported as confirmation that the deferral request has been granted.
The development is the latest twist in the case against Ignatov, one of the ringleaders of the OneCoin digital currency scam. In particular, authorities are keen to rely on Ignatov for information that could lead to the capture of his sister and scheme founder, Ruja Ignatova, who has so far evaded the clutches of the authorities.
After entering into a plea deal with prosecutors, Konstantin Ignatov was instrumental in providing evidence which led to the prosecution of lawyer Mark Scott, who was convicted for his involvement in a $400 million money laundering operation connected to the scam.
The Bulgaria-based scheme is reported to have scammed as much as $4 billion from unsuspecting victims over a number of years.
In spite of the plea deal, Konstantin Ignatov could still be facing a 90 year sentence for the litany of charges against his name.
The authorities will now hope he can provide further clues as to the whereabouts of Ruja Ignatova.
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