The cryptocurrency industry is captivating ambitious and bold risk takers, all tempted by the promise of wealth. But the thin line between ambition and greed follows a darker path.
The industry has witnessed numerous con artists adjusting elaborate crypto frauds that scam billions of investors through Ponzi schemes, failed exchanges and offering fraudulent coins. From the masterminds of fugitives to the criminalization of exchange operators, the individuals behind these schemes have made infamous for their boldness and deception.
Ruja Plamenova Ignatova
Known as “Cryptoqueen”, Ruja Plamenova Ignatova is at the heart of the biggest crypto fraud in history. Ignatova was born in Bulgaria and grew up in Germany.
She graduated from Oxford University and initially pursued a successful career in finance. In 2014, she co-founded the cryptocurrency onecoin with Carl Sebastian Greenwood. The business was based in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Onecoin has promised high returns to investors. Ignatova’s sales pitch was convincing.
She has convinced millions of people around the world to invest in onecoin. It worked through a multi-level marketing (MLM) scheme.
She argued that Onecoin is a revolutionary cryptocurrency that could compete with Bitcoin (BTC).
“Onecoin should be a Bitcoin killer. Two years from now, no one will talk about Bitcoin anymore,” she told investors.
In 2015, Ignatova revealed that Onecoin was officially entering the US market. However, the following year, cracks began to appear as investors found it difficult to sell Onecoin and recover their initial investments.
It was later revealed that Onecoin is a Ponzi scheme with no verifiable blockchain behind it, scamming more than $4 billion in investors worldwide. Legal documents say Ignatova and Greenwood were aware from the start that the project was a fraudulent venture.
“It may not be (something) really clean, or I may not even be able to be proud of myself (except for you in private when we make money). But I’m particularly good in this very boundary case (sic), I wrote in Greenwood.
On October 12, 2017, Ignatova was charged with fraud and money laundering. Authorities also issued federal arrest warrants.
Despite this, she disappeared shortly afterwards. Ignatova boarded a commercial flight from Sofia, Bulgaria to Athens, Greece, and has not been seen since.
The FBI has placed Ignatova on the list of the 10 most wanted fugitives, offering up to $5 million for information that leads to her capture. She is also one of Europe’s most popular fugitives.
Meanwhile, in December 2022, Greenwood pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering fees related to the scheme. Additionally, in April 2024, US District Judge Edgard Ramos sentenced Irina Dilkinska, former attorney general of Onecoin, to four years in prison.
Despite the massive media coverage and the massive scale of her fraud, Ignatova remains elusive in 2025.
Faruk FatihÖzer
Faruk FatihÖzer founded Thodex, a Turkish cryptocurrency exchange that is notorious for its massive crypto fraud. Founded in 2017, Thodex has grown rapidly and has become one of Türkiye’s largest crypto platforms.
In April 2021, Exchange suddenly shut down, and the Thodex website showed a message claiming the platform would go offline for 4-5 days. But this was the beginning of a major crisis.
Over 400,000 users have no access to their accounts, with around $2 billion worth of cryptocurrencies locked to the platform.
Following the closure, Fati Other fled to Albania. Meanwhile, authorities arrested her sister Serup Özer, her brother Güven Özer and four other senior employees. Additionally, they detained around 83 people as part of the investigation.
Özer’s loss of failure caused a manhunt. He was caught in Albania in 2022 and later handed over to Türkiye in 2023. In September 2023, he was sentenced to 11 and 196 totals in prison with his brothers.
Nevertheless, in January 2025, the 22nd Criminal Office of the Istanbul Regional Court of Justice invalidated some of the original decision. The court acquitted 16 defendants on charges of “qualified fraud” because of lack of evidence. He also ordered the release of four defendants.
However, not all defendants were released. The court released FatihÖzer and his brothers from accusations that they “organised and led a criminal group,” but their detention continued with other charges.
Satish Kumbani
BitConnect founder Satish Kumbhani masterminded a global Ponzi scheme in which investors scam $2.4 billion investors between 2016 and 2018. The DOJ refers to court documents and said Kumbhani had deceived investors about Bitconnect’s “loan program.”
He and his partners promoted BitConnect’s proprietary technologies, “BitConnect Trading Bot” and “Volatility Software,” as tools that can guarantee great profits by trading in fluctuations in the Cryptocurrency market.
But BitConnect is actually a Ponzi scheme, which used money from new investors to pay previous investors. Kumbhani closed its lending program about a year later.
He then told the promoter to manipulate the price of BitConnect Coin (BCC) and made it seem like there is real demand. Kumbhani and his partners have hidden investors’ funds by mixing, cycling and exchanging them through various international exchanges with BitConnect wallets.
On September 1, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against BitConnect. The regulators argued that BitConnect has deceived retail investors. Additionally, Glenn Arcaro, head of Bitconnect’s North American division.pleaded guilty in US District Court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
The founder of BitConnect was charged in February 2022 and faces multiple charges. If convicted on all charges, he could face up to 70 years in prison.
“Kumbhani is being charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to manipulate product prices, running unlicensed remittance businesses, and conspiracy to commit international money laundering,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, in September 2022, the court was SentenceArcaro was placed in prison for 38 months, ordering victims from 40 countries to repay $17.6 million.
The stories of Ruja Ignatova, Faruk FatihÖzer and Satish Kumbhani show the devastating effects of crypto fraud, losing billions and ruining lives. These cases highlight the need for regulatory oversight, investor education, and international cooperation to combat fraud in the space.
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