Lawyer convicted in $400 million crypto scam loses appeal

A federal appeals court in Manhattan has upheld the conviction of a former partner at law firm Locke Lord who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in a nearly $400 million fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme.The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said on Friday that there was sufficient evidence supporting Mark Scott's 2019 convictions for conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Samuel Conrad Scott, a Paul Weiss counsel who is defending Mark Scott, said in a statement that his client maintains his innocence "and is evaluating options for further review." Mark Scott said in a statement said he was "stunned" by the 2nd Circuit's decision to uphold his verdict, which he has argued has been tainted by the perjury of a government witness.A spokesperson for the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment. Mark Scott was found guilty for his role in the OneCoin cryptocurrency fraud. In addition to receiving a 10-year sentence, he was ordered to forfeit more than $392 million, as well as several bank accounts, a yacht and two Porsche automobiles.Prosecutors said Scott was introduced to OneCoin cofounder Ruja Ignatova, a German citizen also known as the "Cryptoqueen," in 2015, and began to set up fake investment funds to launder millions of dollars in fraud proceeds in 2016. Scott argued he gave Ignatova legal advice and that he did not know OneCoin was a scam.Scott had been an international mergers and acquisitions and private equity partner at Locke Lord from June 2015 to September 2016. A spokeswoman for the firm previously told Reuters that Scott was employed there a short time and that it was not aware of "his individual activities outside of the firm."Ignatova remains at large. She was added to the FBI's top 10 most wanted list in 2022. The case is United States v. Scott, 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, No. 24-368.For United States: Juliana Murray and Kevin Mead of the U.S. Attorney's OfficeFor Mark Scott: Samuel Conrad Scott of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison