One founder of OnceCoin has been arrested for fraud and another remains at large following accusation of duplicitous behaviour to sell their product to investors. Konstantin Ignatov was arrested last night and charged with wire fraud in a case brought forward by the district attorney, after it was alleged that the currency he founded had no blockchain functionality nor a public ledger, despite what they told their buyers. While his sister and co-founder, Ruja Ignatova, remains at large wanted on money laundering, and wire and securities fraud charges. In emails, between the pair, they had outlined a plan to “take the money and run and blame someone else for this.” The Bulgarian-based company, which launched in 2014, operated as a form of pyramid scheme where members could gain commission by attracting others to the service. It is believed they lied to their members to inflate its value from $0.56 to $33.65 and enticed them to not cash out their coins. It is claimed that upon being asked when members could cash out during a meeting, he replied, “If you are here to cash out, leave this room now, because you don’t understand what this project is about.” OneCoin had attracted over 3 million members before it came under investigation from the District Attorney, who then discovered that between 2014-2016 they had generated €3.769 billion in sales revenue and $2.509 in profit. Speaking about the charges, Geoffrey S. Berman, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney stated, “Thee defendants created a multibillion-dollar ‘cryptocurrency’ company based completely on lies and deceit. They promised big returns and minimal risk, but, as alleged, this business was a pyramid scheme based on smoke and mirrors more than zeroes and ones”. If the siblings are found guilty, Ignatov could face 20 years in jail, while Igantova is facing up to 80 years.