In
OneCoin Case Money Launderer Armenta Asks
to Be Released Early US Asks for 2 Weeks
By Matthew
Russell Lee,
Patreon Podcast Filing
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
March 28 -- For money
laundering for scam crypto
currency OneCoin, lawyer Mark
Scott was convicted by a jury
after testimony by Konstantin
Ignatov and others but was
allowed to remain free on bail
pending sentencing.
On December 5,
2022, the related indictment
against Frank Schneider was
unsealed and Inner City Press
immediately uploaded it here.
Now in June 27, after being
released by the French courts
to house arrest, Schneider is
on the lam.
On June 27, 2023,
the US Attorney's Office wrote
to Judge Edgardo Ramos to
cancel Irina Dilkinska's July
6 court appearance, to late
September.
On June 29, Judge
Ramos granted it: "MEMO
ENDORSEMENT as to Irina
Dilkinska (7) on [553] LETTER
MOTION addressed to Judge
Edgardo Ramos from Juliana
Murray dated 6/27/2023 re:
Adjournment and Exclusion of
Time. ENDORSEMENT: The
pretrial conference is
adjourned to September 21,
2023 at 10 a.m. Speedy trial
time is excluded from July 6,
2023 to September 21, 2023, in
the interest of justice"
Then on July 18,
Dilkinska's appointed lawyer
wrote to Judge Ramos that his
client wants to replace him
with another lawyer, and to
see up a conference on the
issue.
And on July 20,
it happened, to the CJA on
duty who also picked up a half
dozen other cases that day:
"ORDER as to Irina Dilkinska:
The C.J.A. attorneys assigned
to this case, Jeremy Schneider
and Rachel Nicole Perillo, are
hereby ordered substituted and
the representation of the
defendant in the above
captioned matter is assigned
to John Busa. Attorney Rachel
Nicole Perillo terminated in
case as to Irina Dilkinska.
(Signed by Judge Edgardo Ramos
on 7/20/2023)"
On May 26, 2023,
as to Ruja Ignatova's brother
(and cooperator) Konstantin,
this: "ORDER as to Konstantin
Ignatov: It is hereby ORDERED
that the defendant's bail be
modified to include mental
health evaluation/treatment as
directed by Pretrial Services.
(Signed by Judge Edgardo Ramos
on 5/26/2023)."
On April 11,
2023, Judge Ramos heard
argument on, then denied,
Sebastian Greenwood's argument
that non-US losses should be
excluded from his sentencing.
Inner City Press was there and
exclusively live tweeted, here
(vlog here)
Judge Ramos is
back and says: I am denying
the defendant's motion.
I am not deciding if
crypto is a security. The
money laundering was primarily
in the US, Mr Armenta and Mr
Scott...
(vlog here)
On
August 29,
Greenwood's
new lawyers filed a
55-page
sentencing submission,
redacting
even the name
of a case they
cited and
withholding an
undisclosed number
of
exhibits.
(They left in
Greenwood's
"MDC
Transcript," now on
Patreon here).
They
ask for
time served. They quote "Karl's
former driver in
Thailand" -
but redact
the quote, and
withhold the
entire
affidavit. This
is
unacceptable -
Inner
City Press has
appealed to
the Second Circuit.
On January 18,
2023, Gilbert Armenta's
sentencing was request to be
pushed back, yet again, this
time from January 24 to
February 16.
On January 27
Armenta's lawyer filed a
heavily redacted sentencing
memo - 12 pages about his
crimes are blacked out -
asking for a time served
sentencing. Memo on Patreon here.
On January 31,
Inner City Press filed a
two-page motion to unseal -
which Judge Ramos endorsed on
February 8, with responses due
February 10 and a hearing on
February 14 at 10 am. Endorsed
letter on DocumentCloud here.
(Just) before 5
pm on February 10, the US
Attorney's Office filed a
letter that Armenta's counsel
would be unredacting - but
when they did, after 9 pm, it
was begrudging, and not
enough. Amenta's letter,
citing Jen Shah,
here on Patreon.
And when
Armenta's lawyers put in an
after-hours response trying to
use Inner City Press' filings
on Jen Shah to support
secrecy, it still redacted far
too much - letter here on
DocumentCloud, still too
redacted filing on Patreon here.
Armenta got five
years - but on March 15, 2024,
after less than a year, he
filed to be released
immediate, time served, for
medical reasons which he
redacts.
On March 28, the
US asked for two more weeks to
respond, to April 15, to talk
with Armenta's treating
physician at the facility.
On March 30, the
argument on Sebastian
Greenwood was delayed: "NOTICE
as to Karl Sebastian
Greenwood; Oral argument
previously scheduled for April
4, 2023, is hereby rescheduled
for April 11, 2023, at 2:00
p.m., will be held at the
Thurgood Marshall United
States Courthouse, 40 Foley
Square, New York, New York
10007, Courtroom 619."
Back on March 21,
SDNY prosecutors announce
unsealing of charges against
IRINA DILKINSKA in connection
with her participation in the
massive OneCoin fraud
scheme. OneCoin, which
began operations in 2014 and
was based in Sofia, Bulgaria,
marketed and sold a fraudulent
cryptocurrency by the same
name through a global
multi-level-marketing (“MLM”)
network. As a result of
misrepresentations made about
OneCoin, victims invested over
$4 billion worldwide in the
fraudulent
cryptocurrency.
DILKINSKA was extradited from
Bulgaria yesterday and will be
presented before United States
Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn
later today." More on Substack
here.
On April 6, after
a delay, Dilkinska was brought
by US Marshals into Judge
Ramos' courtroom. Inner City
Press was there, but her lead
CJA counsel was not. His
stand-in consented to the
exclusion of Speedy Trial Act
time to July 6, the next
conference. Judge Ramos asked,
Wasn't much of the discovery
provided for the extradition?
Apparently not.
The AUSA
said he thinks OneCoin is
closed in Bulgaria, but there
may still be promoters about
there. Watch this site.
Back on December
16, on a mere hour's notice,
Sebastian Greenwood was
brought into court and pleaded
guilty to three counts. His
sentencing is set for April 5,
but there will be briefing on
a dispute if the sentencing
guideline should be based on
US or global losses.
On Patreon,
superseding information and
Pimintel letter estimating 720
months both here
Inner City Press
vlog here,
live tweeted thread here:
OK- on OneCoin
and Sebastian Greenwood,
headed to hastily scheduled
proceeding before Judge
Ramos
Greenwood has
been brought in, shackled.
AUSA Nick Folly is signing
papers. Inner City Press the
first media here.
Folly apologizes
to Judge Ramos' Deputy,
somethong about "in 10
minutes." He has a jury out in
trip 'n fall scan trial US v
Dowd, which Inner City Press
is also covering.
Greenwood is
sporting a thin mustache and
small pony tail / bun. He has
a lawyer on each elbow, and 2
US Marshals behind him. Folly
just stepped out, with
umbrella. Will this proceed
without him? Another AUSA just
came in.
AUSA Ravi:
There is a superseding
information that Mr Greenwood
will be pleading guilty to.
Greenwood's lawyer: Yes. And
there is no plea agreement.
Judge Ramos: We are starting
20 minutes late.
AUSA Ravi: Mr
Folly just had a verdict come
in [in US v Dowd]
Judge: Are you
being treated for any mental
health issue? Greenwood's
lawyer: He is having
counseling, we could describe
it but under seal. He is
competent to plead. Judge: You
are charged with wire fraud
and conspiracy to commit money
laundering and wire fraud
Judge
Ramos: Maximum penalty (on
count 3) is twenty years, more
if consecutive - up to 60
years.
Greenwood: I
understand. Judge: I could
also order restitution to any
victims. What is your status
in this country? Greenwood: I
am an inmate [laughs]. I am a
citizen of the UK and Sweden.
Greenwood's lawyer: He was
arrested in Thailand.
Judge: Separate
from the maximums, there are
sentencing guidelines. There
is a Pimintel letter from the
government, estimsting your
guideline. It is not a
promise. Greenwood: I
understand.
AUSA Folly [he's
back] OneCoin was a ponzi
scheme. Between 2014 and 2016
it made 4 billion Euros, with
profits of 2.7 billion. It
lacked a real blockchain: it
marketed into the US.
Greenwood: I met
Ruja Ignatova, we started
OneLife, packages including
OneCoin. We mis-compared it to
Bitcoin. But I knew OneCoin
had no intrinsic value. We
targeted the US and concealed
the source. I knew it was
wrong.
Greenwood: I
plead guilty. Judge
Ramos: I find you guilty.
Sentencing date? Greenwood's
lawyer: We disagree on how the
guideline apply: worldwide or
US-based conduct? We'll brief
it.
Greenwood's
sentencing was set for April 5
at 2 pm. But before that,
briefs on whether sentencing
guidelines should be based of
global billions, or US only-
Greenwood like Scott says
$57,000: AUSA says US is tens
of millions.
We'll have more
on this.
Days earlier on
December 12, 2022, the US
Attorney's Office wrote to
Judge Edgardo Ramos that his
OneCoin case is related to
another, unsealed this month,
against Christopher Hamilton
and Robert MacDonald (for whom
their request for extradition
has been denied in the UK).
They are proposing that the
cases, and the Armenta Case,
be consolidated. Watch this
site.
This case, for
now, is US v. Hamilton, et
al., 18-cr-793 (Broderick)
On June 30, 2022
the US FBI put Ruja Ignatova
on its 10 Most Wanted List.
Inner City Press went to the
FBI press conference and asked
about her security chief Frank
Schneider saying she's dead,
and the status of his
extradition.
The FBI's New
York Assistant
Director-in-Charge, Michael J.
Driscoll, told Inner City
Press they have their reasons
for putting Ruja on the list.
US Attorney for the SDNY
Damian Williams said he could
not speak about
extradition(s). Vlog here.
This case is US
v. Armenta, 17-cr-556 (Ramos)
On August
25, 2021 Inner City Press
filed a letter with Judge
Ramos, cc-ing the prosecutors
and Scott's counsel, formally
asking that the motion be
unsealed - still not docketed
as of Aug 30, unlike the
practice of other SDNY judges.
(Now
on
DocumentCloud,
here;
podcast here).
Vlog here.
On
September 13,
counsel for
Mark Scott and
for the US
Attorney's
Office were told
by Judge
Ramos'
chambers (to its
credit),
"Judge Ramos
directs the
parties to
respond
to this
request."
The August 25
letter: Dear Judge
Ramos: This
concerns, in the
above-captioned criminal case
that concerns money laundering
for the OneCoin scheme, the
request to entirely seal a
judicial document requesting a
new trial for the defendant.
The filing(s) should be
unsealed in full, or if the
Court sees fit, in
part. I have
been covering the case for
Inner City Press, see also,
e.g., The Guardian (UK),
November 25, 2019, "In
testimony live-tweeted by the
investigative
journalism website Inner
City Press, Ignatov
reportedly referred to
Abdulaziz as 'one of the main
money launderers' involved in
the scheme."
Yesterday,
Scott's counsel filed a letter
(Dkt 390) requesting a
sentencing adjournment based
on "the need for the Court to
consider and address the
Supplemental Rule 22 Motion
(including the request for an
evidentiary hearing) filed
under seal on August 23,
2021." That motion is a
judicial document, within the
meaning of United States v.
Aref, 533 F.3d 72, 81-83 (2d
Cir. 2008) and Lugosch v.
Pyramid Co., 435 F.3d 110 (2d
Cir. 2006) - it should be made
available.
Inner City
Press routinely files requests
to unseal in this District,
and other Districts -
including as cited in its
March 31 request, here
And Judge Broderick's
docketing of Inner City Press'
request to unseal in US v.
Ashe / Piao, 15-cr-706, Dkt No
999 (Inner City Press letter)
& Dkt 998 (ordering that
sealing be justified or
removed by April 9).
And see,
regarding public access to
allegedly confidential
information, Judge Furman's
recent grant of Inner City
Press request to unseal in US
v. Avenatti, 19-cr-374 (JMF),
Docket No. 134. See also, July
27, 2021, NYLJ,
"Judge Orders Release of
Michael Avenatti's Financial
Affidavits In Stormy Daniels
Theft Case," "Journalist
Matthew Russell Lee of Inner
City Press had intervened,
advocating for the affidavits'
release."
(Now on
DocumentCloud, here;
podcast here).Watch
this site.
Inner
City Press
back on March
13 asked the
US Attorney's
Office Press
Office for its
filings not
yet in the
public
docket.
Here
is Inner City Press' Periscope
video upon leaving the
courthouse. The case is US v.
Scott, 17-cr-630
(Ramos).
***
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