US Hopes to Confiscate $400M: DoJ Files Forfeiture Judgment Against Onecoin Launderer

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Prosecutors from the Southern District of New York (SDNY) court have submitted a “forfeiture money judgment” against the former attorney Mark Scott. The lawyer was charged with helping the Ponzi scheme Onecoin launder funds. The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) claims that Scott helped launder $400 million and the entity hopes to seize his current assets.

On August 31, attorneys from the SDNY court and members of the DoJ submitted a new court filing in the case called “United States v. Mark S. Scott.” The case involves Mark Scott’s involvement with Onecoin and Ruja Ignatova (the cryptoqueen), as the DoJ accused Scott of helping the Ponzi launder $400 million in the British Virgin Islands.

The DoJ and NYSD prosecutors said Scott helped Onecoin associates since 2015. The case is being handled by Judge Edgardo Ramos and Scott will face 50 years when he appears before Ramos during his October 9 sentencing.

In addition to the looming prison sentence, the DoJ has also submitted a “forfeiture money judgment” notice asking Judge Ramos to freeze Scott’s assets.

The DoJ and prosecutors assumed Scott took $50 million out of the $392,940,000 Onecoin associates laundered. The law enforcement entity wants all of Scott’s assets including a few trusts that were created, homes, a 2016 Porsche 911 GTS RS, and offshore funds.

The filing notes that during the trial, Scott “blatantly violated the home incarceration” and had dinner at a restaurant in Coral Gables, Florida pretending he was visiting his attorney. The DoJ believes Scott still has “continued to access substantial offshore funds.”

The filing shows that in or about April 2019, Scott wire transferred $300,000 from an account held at First Caribbean International Bank in the Cayman Islands. The DoJ says that Scott used the money to pay for construction at one of his properties.

“In short, Scott has defrauded his own suretor, mortgaged properties purchased with victim money and subject to forfeiture, sold a luxury car purchased with victim money and subject to a seizure warrant and forfeiture—thereby obstructing justice and committing a new criminal offense while on bail,” the DoJ attorney highlights.

“[Mark Scott] used the proceeds from the car sale to benefit himself, and blatantly violated the terms of his release. Given his access to offshore funds and the inability to extradite him from Germany, and particularly in light of all of the violations described above, Scott simply cannot meet his burden to show by clear and convincing evidence any conditions that he is not likely to flee or pose a financial danger to the community,” the filing written to Judge Ramos concludes.

What do you think about the DoJ wanting to seize former attorney Mark Scott’s assets? Let us know in the comments section below.

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