Irina Dilkinska pleaded guilty on Thursday in Manhattan federal court to wire fraud and money laundering charges 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. On Thursday, November 9, U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos accepted Dilkinska’s guilty plea.

In 2014, Ruja Ignatova, a/k/a “the Cryptoqueen,” and Karl Greenwood co-founded OneCoin, a company based in Sofia, Bulgaria, that marketed a purported cryptocurrency by the same name, which was in fact a fraudulent pyramid scheme.

OneCoin operated as a MLM network through which members received commissions for recruiting others to purchase cryptocurrency packages. This MLM structure influenced rapid growth of the OneCoin member network. Indeed, according to OneCoin’s promotional materials, over three million people invested in fraudulent cryptocurrency packages. OneCoin records show that between the fourth quarter of 2014 and the fourth quarter of 2016 alone, OneCoin generated €4.037 billion in sales revenue and earned “profits” of €2.735 billion.

Dilkinska was the purported Head of Legal and Compliance for OneCoin. But rather than ensuring that OneCoin complied with the law, she assisted in running its day-to-day operations and laundered money for OneCoin, including arranging for the transfer of $110 million in fraudulently obtained OneCoin proceeds to a Cayman Islands entity.

Dilkinska, 42, a citizen of Bulgaria, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum potential sentence of five years in prison, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which also carries a maximum potential sentence of five years in prison.

Sentencing before Judge Ramos is scheduled for February 14, 2024, at 10:00 a.m.