Federal Prosecutors Challenge Mark S. Scott’s Appeal in OneCoin Money Laundering Case
On Wednesday, August 28, 2024, federal prosecutors filed a brief in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals regarding the case of Mark S. Scott, a former partner at Locke Lord LLP.
Scott was convicted in 2019 for his role in laundering approximately $400 million linked to the OneCoin cryptocurrency scam, orchestrated by Ruja Ignatova, known as the “CryptoQueen.” He is currently serving a ten-year prison sentence.
In their latest brief, prosecutors rebutted Scott’s claims that he deserves a new trial due to alleged perjury by a government witness, Konstantin Ignatova, Ruja Ignatova’s brother. Scott’s legal team had argued that Ignatova’s false testimony significantly tainted the trial’s outcome, warranting a reversal of his conviction.
Scott’s appeal, submitted in May 2024, highlighted two key instances of Ignatova’s testimony that he claims were false. Ignatova had testified about discarding his laptop in Las Vegas in 2019 and about Scott supposedly attending a meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 2016. Scott’s attorneys argued that these inaccuracies compromised the integrity of the trial.
However, federal prosecutors maintained that the examples presented by Scott were either irrelevant or not perjurious. They acknowledged that while Ignatova’s testimony regarding the laptop was indeed false, it occurred after the events central to Scott’s case and did not significantly impact the trial’s key issues, particularly whether Scott knowingly participated in laundering illicit funds.
The brief stated, “Because the evidence of Konstantin’s perjury was immaterial and would serve ‘only to impeach credibility,’ it does not justify a new trial.” Prosecutors contended that Ignatova’s testimony about Scott’s alleged meeting with Ruja Ignatova and Irina Dilkinska, OneCoin’s primary money launderer, was also not pivotal. Scott had provided emails indicating that Dilkinska was unavailable at the time of the alleged meeting, suggesting that Ignatova may have simply misremembered the details.
Prosecutors argued that Ignatova’s uncertainty about the meeting was evident, as he only stated he was “pretty sure” Dilkinska was present. They emphasized that this testimony was not a crucial element of the case. The government further asserted that they did not heavily rely on Ignatova’s testimony, instead focusing on other compelling evidence that underpinned Scott’s guilt.
Scott’s conviction stemmed from allegations that he assisted in diverting funds from OneCoin to Ignatova and her associates by establishing investment entities known as the Fenero funds. These funds were purportedly used to launder money from defrauded OneCoin investors. Prosecutors described Scott’s actions as yielding an astonishing $50 million in fees derived from the fraudulent scheme.
Ruja Ignatova continues to evade capture and is considered a high-priority fugitive by U.S. law enforcement.
Please contact BlockTribune for access to a copy of this filing.
