A former partner at U.S. law firm Locke Lord, Mark Scott, argued that prosecutors failed to prove he knowingly participated in a $400 million fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme. On Wednesday, Scott urged the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reverse or vacate his November 2019 conviction, asserting that the government’s case relied heavily on a witness who committed perjury.
“Mark Scott’s trial was tainted by perjury. He maintains his innocence and is vigorously pursuing this appeal,” stated Conrad Scott, a member of Scott’s defense team at Covington & Burling. The Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office did not immediately comment.
A jury found Scott guilty of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit bank fraud for his involvement in the OneCoin cryptocurrency fraud. In January, the court sentenced him to 10 years in prison and ordered the forfeiture of more than $392 million, several bank accounts, a yacht, and two Porsche automobiles.
Prosecutors revealed that Scott met OneCoin co-founder Ruja Ignatova, a German citizen known as the “Cryptoqueen,” in 2015. In 2016, Scott began setting up fake investment funds to launder millions of dollars in fraud proceeds.
Appeal
In his appellate brief, Scott claimed Ignatova sought his advice on shielding her assets from a lawsuit or divorce, and he was unaware that OneCoin was a scam.
Scott argued that the government’s case depended on the testimony of Ignatova’s brother, Konstantin, who falsely testified about discarding his OneCoin laptop. Scott told the 2nd Circuit that Konstantin also lied about a crucial 2016 meeting where Ruja allegedly instructed Scott on his role in the crypto scam. Due to this perjury, Scott requested a new trial.
Prosecutors contended that substantial evidence, independent of Konstantin Ignatova’s testimony, connected Scott to the OneCoin scam. Konstantin Ignatova pleaded guilty to criminal charges and spent about 34 months in prison before receiving a time-served sentence of two years in March. His lawyers did not immediately comment.
Ruja Ignatova remains at large and joined the FBI’s top 10 most wanted list in 2022.
