Sentencing of OneCoin co-conspirator gets rescheduled again
The sentencing of Mark Scott is adjourned to July 14, 2020.
The sentencing of Mark Scott, one of the individuals linked to multi-billion cryptocurrency scam OneCoin, has been adjourned again, documents seen by FinanceFeeds reveal.
Judge Edgardo Ramos of the New York Southern District Court has granted a request by Scott, who is convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to commit bank fraud, to postpone his sentencing until July 14, 2020. The sentencing has been rescheduled several times already due to various reasons – this time, the delay is blamed on Scott’s “need to undergo further medical testing”.
Scott, a former equity partner at the law firm Locke Lord LLP, laundered approximately $400 million in proceeds of OneCoin through fraudulent investment funds that he set up and operated for that purpose. Scott was paid more than $50 million for his money laundering services, which he used to buy luxury cars, a yacht, and several seaside homes.
As FinanceFeeds reported in February, Scott has pushed for acquittal. The Government’s evidence that OneCoin activities extended into the United States was extremely limited, Scott said.
Scott argues that there was no testimony by any witness that (1) Scott had anything to do with OneCoin sales, much less sales in the United States or (2) that Scott had any belief that OneCoin was violating any criminal laws.
Scott also insists that the jury instructions on both the bank fraud and money laundering counts were wrong on key points, permitting the jury to convict him based on conduct that would not violate the statutes in question. Even if the Government had provided sufficient proof of the charged offenses a new trial would be required to cure these instructional errors, Scott says.
According to the Government, the jury’s determination that the defendant is guilty was based on legally sufficient evidence that proved his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Nor do the facts and circumstances surrounding the jury’s guilty verdict provide any basis whatsoever for the drastic measure of granting of new trial, the Government says.
