Edgar Moreno, an Argentinian radio and television presenter, still claims innocence regarding the $4 billion OneCoin Ponzi scheme, nearly nine months after his arrest in December alongside seven other promoters. Moreno promoted OneCoin across Argentina and Panama for at least three years.
Authorities arrested Moreno as part of an eight-person sweep last December. His prominence in local media continues to draw public attention to the case in Argentina. A reporter from Suquia secured a telephone interview with Moreno to get his side of the story.
"The most astonished person by my arrest was me," Moreno told the reporter when asked about what happened. He stated that those who know him personally are aware he is a good man and an entrepreneur, not a criminal or scammer. The total amount Moreno allegedly made recruiting OneCoin victims remains unclear. However, the victim who initiated the criminal investigation alleges a personal loss of €70,000 EUR.
Moreno avoided directly answering if he ever considered the cryptocurrency he promoted might be false. He instead pointed to the large number of defendants. "Look, there are currently fourteen defendants in this case," he said. "Can you imagine going out to gather fourteen people with experience, work, family, friends, roots, and no criminal record to associate them with committing a crime? It is impossible!"
Moreno also disputed the label of "ringleader" for those arrested. He claimed, "there are no Indians, we are all chiefs." He further alleged that one of the complainants was "one of the best sellers of (OneCoin) education packages." OneCoin sold these "educational packages" bundled with token investments. This defense has not succeeded in any OneCoin-related criminal action to date, despite its original intent to shield the scheme from regulatory scrutiny.
Moreno shifted blame to another alleged victim. "The other alleged victim is a policeman from the province of Córdoba from the Complex Causes Crimes Unit, a great seller of educational packages who got tired of publicly stating that ours was a legal undertaking." He called it "a coincidence" that the fraud complaint was voluntarily submitted.
Moreno stated he filed an answer to the criminal case against him, but a decision remains pending. "When they arrested me, I imagined that in less than 10 days my innocence was proven, but here I am, I have been waiting for my situation for almost nine months." He appealed the preventive detention before the Control Judge, but received no response.
Because of this lack of response, Moreno's legal team sought international protection. They presented a request for a Precautionary Measure before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. They also filed a similar request with the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions. Moreno and his co-defendants remain in custody as the criminal case against them proceeds in Argentina.