Gilbert Armenta, a resident of Florida, was a key figure in OneCoin’s money laundering operations.

He has also been
romantically linked
to OneCoin’s founder, Ruja Ignatova.

On September 12th, 2017, Armenta was indicted by a Grand Jury on three counts of extortion; conspiracy to commit extortion, attempted extortion and travel act extortion.

Armenta was arrested in Connecticut the following day on September 13th.

As per proceedings held in New York on September 18th, Armenta’s bail was set at $5 million dollars.

Armenta (right) was ordered to stay in Manhattan with a 6pm curfew and GPS monitoring. His passport and those belonging to his adult children were also surrendered.

Armenta’s initial plea to the criminal charges against him was not guilty.

On January 24th 2018, the DOJ filed a superseding indictment adding additional criminal charges.

Armenta now faced five counts;

conspiracy to commit wire fraud;

conspiracy to commit money laundering (three counts); and

conspiracy to commit extortion.

As alleged by the DOJ;

Gilbert Armenta assisted in the execution of the OneCoin scheme by, among other things,

(a) coordinating the opening of OneCoin Ltd. depository bank accounts … at banks located in Mexico and South America;

(b) establishing and administering OneCoin “pool accounts” at various international banks;

(c) introducing one or more principals of the OneCoin scheme to an online reputation company for the purpose of removing from the internet negative information about OneCoin Ltd.;

(d) transmitting OneCoin Ltd. fund to pay recruitment commissions to OneCoin members who recruited new OneCoin members, as well as to pay refunds to dissatisfied OneCoin members; and

(e) transmitting OneCoin Scheme proceeds through bank accounts located in the United States and abroad, and making various misrepresentations to banks regarding the source of the funds, for the purpose of laundering the OneCoin scheme proceeds.

With respect to extortion, the DOJ alleged

Armenta agreed with others to use threats of physical harm to attempt to collect payment through international wire transfer from an individual in the United Kingdom who they believed had stolen business proceeds originally intended for international wire transfer.

The individual in question is not named.

The same day the superseding indictment was filed, Armenta pled guilty to all five counts.

We know through testimony that Armenta opted to cooperate with the FBI following his arrest in September 2017.

Nothing was filed in Armenta’s case from March 27th, 2018 till April 2020.

On April 29th 2020, the DOJ requested Armenta’s case be unsealed. I believe this signaled the end of his cooperation with US authorities.

On May 29th Armenta’s sentencing was scheduled for July 23rd.

Citing COVID-19 and claiming he was suffering from “uncertainty and stress”, on July 7th Armenta requested his sentencing hearing be conducted via video conference.

The uncertainty and stress that Mr. Arment

🤖 Quick Answer

Who is Gilbert Armenta in relation to the OneCoin fraud?
Gilbert Armenta, a Florida resident, was a significant figure in OneCoin's money laundering operations and maintained romantic connections with founder Ruja Ignatova. He faced multiple federal charges including extortion conspiracy and travel act violations, resulting in his September 2017 indictment and subsequent arrest in Connecticut.

What were the legal consequences Armenta faced following his indictment?
Armenta was indicted on three counts: extortion, conspiracy to commit extortion, and travel act extortion. Following his arrest on September 13th, 2017, his bail was set at five million dollars in New York proceedings, with conditions including Manhattan residence, GPS monitoring, a 6pm curfew, and passport surrender from himself and adult children.

What was Armenta's initial legal response to the charges?
Arm

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