Argentina has taken another step in its long-running legal response to the OneCoin fraud scheme. A criminal court in Cordoba sentenced 12 individuals tied to the Argentine branch of OneCoin after they admitted involvement in the operation. The penalties ranged from suspended sentences to lengthy prison terms, with the longest sentence reaching nine years. The court also ordered the group to pay $82,000 in compensation to the plaintiffs.
12 defendants sentenced in Cordoba
According to the ruling, most of the defendants received prison terms of more than six years, while two were given suspended sentences. Those sentenced were Edgar Moreno, Ricardo Beretta, Alejandro Taylor, Ariel Eduardo Morasutt, Mariana Noel Lopez, Manuel Peralta Guevara, Andres Matias Lopez, Aldo Javier Leguizamon, Nancy Diaz, Monica Gabriela Blasco, Daniel Conaglia, and Adolfo Gustavo Amuchastegui. The report says the combined punishment handed down to the group totaled 71 years.
Longest sentence tied to refusal to fund compensation
Alejandro Taylor received the harshest sentence of nine years. The court linked that outcome to his refusal to contribute to the compensation ordered for victims. The report noted that Taylor admitted holding assets worth millions and previously owning more than 12 luxury cars, yet did not share in the court-mandated restitution fund.
The case traces back to investigations that led to arrests in 2020. Most of the convicted individuals were detained after authorities received a complaint from a victim who said they had paid about $70,000 to the group in 2018. That complaint became a key trigger for the local investigation into the OneCoin network in Argentina.
Separate bank employee case remains open
Another OneCoin-related case is still being heard in Argentina. That proceeding involves a network of bank employees accused of laundering money and moving funds abroad. The parallel case suggests that the financial infrastructure behind the scheme in the country may have extended beyond direct promoters and recruiters.
OneCoin is widely regarded as one of the biggest Ponzi schemes associated with the crypto sector. Although the operation collapsed in 2019, legal actions against organizers, local participants, and financial enablers continue in several jurisdictions. Its founder, Ruja Ignatova, remains a fugitive. The report says the scheme attracted more than $4.5 billion in investments, and Ignatova is still listed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. Conflicting claims about her whereabouts have circulated for years, but none has been definitively confirmed.