OneCoin Lawyer Mark Scott Got Disbarred From New York: Report

The OneCoin lawyer Mark Scott got disbarred from New York which means he is banned from practicing law in the state. Scott is awaiting sentencing as well so let’s find out more in today’s crypto news.

The OneCoin lawyer Mark Scott who defended the popular scammer known as “CryptoQueen” was disbarred in New York State. He was an attorney previously for Locke Lord LLP and got banned from practicing law in New York because of his involvement in the Onecoin scam which was a fake blockchain project that lured users into investing in tokens that never existed. Federal prosecutors alleged that the scam started in 2014 managed to make more than $4 billion from investors.

AUSA Folly: Did Ruja take a small or large amount?
Scott's lawyer: Objection.
Judge Ramos: Re-phrase.
AUSA Folly: Compared to other OneCoin investors, was it a small or large amount?
Scott's lawyer: Objection!
Judge Ramos: Overruled.

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) November 6, 2019

Scott was convicted for conspiracy to commit money laundering and bank fraud last November so he is now awaiting sentencing. Ruja Ignatova, the creator of OneCoin is still at large after disappearing in 2017. A panel of five judges ordered that Scott’s name should be struck from the roll of attorneys in the state of New York:

 “[It is ordered] that respondent is commanded to desist and refrain from the practice of law in any form in the State of New York, either as principal or as agent, clerk or employee of another.”

Scott is forbidden for appearing “as an attorney or counselor-at-law before any court, judge, justice, board, commission or other public authority or to give to another an opinion as to the law or its application.” The New York panel relies on prior suspension from the Supreme Court of Florida where he was admitted in 1998. The OneCoin scam lured investors by promising to become the next Bitcoin. What separates this Ponzi scheme and other crypto companies is that the blockchain didn’t even exist.

When people started sending money, they believed that they were buying OneCoin tokens that will accrue value and could eventually be sold on secondary markets. The company however controlled the ledger and made up the prices. Also, we reported that Onecoin’s Konstantin Ignatov, the brother of Ruja Ignatova, the CEO of the worldwide famous Ponzi Scheme, agreed to testify against his sister as a part of the settlement that saw him dismissed from civil litigation regarding the scam.