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One of the biggest scams of all time was the crypto-based "OneCoin," and the founder of this scam is Ruja ‘Cryptoqueen.’ According to a recent article by Fox Business, this woman is a "deceitful scam artist" who has been accused of bilking investors out of $4 billion. The FBI now offers a $100,000 reward for information leading to the perpetrator's arrest. According to the article, a group of alleged collaborators has also been arrested or jailed.

A self-styled "cryptoqueen" named Ruja Ignatova allegedly ran one of the world's biggest crypto scams and is now on the FBI's most wanted list. The Bulgarian-born businesswoman was the founder of the now-defunct cryptocurrency OneCoin. She reportedly bilked investors out of $4 billion. However, she is still at large.

According to the US Department of Justice, Ruja Ignatova's alleged scam involved several schemes. Her company, OneCoin Ltd, offered an unusable and worthless cryptocurrency to its members. In addition, the businesswoman was also engaged in another multi-level marketing scheme called BigCoin.

In a July 2018 court ruling, the FBI said Ruja Ignatova was the "mastermind" of a phony "virtual currency" called OneCoin. This was one of the earliest cryptocurrencies and was marketed as a "bitcoin killer," which would be the next big thing. It was supposedly based on a decentralized public blockchain.

But a year later, the US department of justice charged Ignatova with wire fraud, securities fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Although she hasn't been found, the FBI's most wanted list remains active, and Europol has added her to its top ten most wanted fugitives.

The FBI is offering a reward for information leading to her arrest, but the amount is a small fraction of the $4 billion she allegedly stole. “She left with a tremendous amount of cash,” Michael Driscoll, the FBI’s assistant director-in-charge in New York, told reporters. “Money can buy a lot of friends, and I would imagine she’s taking advantage of that.”

Her partners weren’t so lucky. Two of the company's co-founders, Sebastian Greenwood and David Pike, have been extradited to the US. Greenwood was arrested in July 2018 at his home in Koh Samui, Thailand, and extradited to the US. He pleaded guilty in December to wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and conspiracy to launder money. He is in jail and faces 20 years for each of the three counts when he's sentenced in April. Another, Bekhzod Akhmedov, was charged with money laundering and violating the FCPA.

A podcast series by British journalist Jamie Bartlett titled "missing cryptoqueen" brought global attention to the story. Ignatova’s brother, Konstantin Ignatov, was arrested in March 2019 at Los Angeles International Airport. He’d traveled to the US on business and was preparing to board his return flight to Bulgaria. Bartlett wrote that when five 'men in black suits' handcuffed him and took him to an interrogation room, they peppered him with questions about his missing sister.

In early 2017, Ruja Ignatova was a renowned figure on the social media scene. She was known for her punctuality and smartness. She had a high-flying life, traveling the world to sell her vision for OneCoin. She was married to German lawyer Bjorn Strehl. During her marriage, she and Ignatov had two children.

The 'Cryptoqueen' disappeared in 2017. On October 25, 2017, she boarded a Ryanair flight from Bulgaria to Greece. Two weeks later, she vanished.

She is now one of the FBI's 10 most-wanted fugitives, alongside accused gang leaders and murderers, and is the only woman on that list. Of the 529 fugitives on the FBI's list, since it launched in 1950, she's one of just 11 women.

If you have any information about the whereabouts of Cryptoqueen, the FBI offers a reward of $100,000 for your help. You will also receive witness protection and immunity from prosecution. Contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation at 855-GAME-ON or visit the FBI's website.