A movie on the infamous crypto Ponzi scheme, OneCoin, is in development and is set to star the Titanic lead Kate Winslet. The movie titled Fake! is based on an unpublished book by Jen McAdam and Douglas Thompson. With McAdam being one of the victims of the OneCoin Ponzi scheme, the movie is bound to have some deep insights and revelations about what really unfolded at the time.
Renowned Hollywood director Scott Z. Burns will write and direct Fake! thus offering a box office nuance to the movie showcasing the intricacies of a crypto scam project. The experienced director is known for his acclaimed work on The Report, the political drama that sheds light on the CIA’s torture of 9/11 suspects. Fake! will be yet another collaboration between Scott and Winslet following their 2011 movie Contagion that was a huge success.
The OneCoin project was launched in Bulgaria by Ruja Ignatova in the year 2014. The project lured unsuspecting investors through the typical Ponzi/multilevel marketing scheme promising huge returns in crypto. Ignatova and the OneCoin team marketed the cryptocurrency as the next bitcoin luring many people to invest in the supposedly lifetime opportunity. However, the project was not based on a blockchain and therefore, no such thing as OneCoin cryptocurrency existed on any network.
The crypto industry insiders as well as government agencies sent out may warnings that went unheeded by the public as the project’s popularity soared. Interestingly, the OneCoin team used these attacks to create an ‘us vs. them’ mentality amongst its followers.
OneCoin founder, Ignatova was charged on May 7 with wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering though she is yet to be found since disappearing in 2017. Similar charges were levelled against her brother Konstantin Ignatova for his role as an executive of OneCoin. Konstantin has agreed to testify against his sister. On the other hand, investors have sued OneCoin for allegedly combined loss of close to $5 billion.
McAdam has revealed that together with her family and friends lost over €250,000 in the OneCoin scheme before realising that it wasn’t even based on a blockchain and no such cryptocurrency existed. She has now started a support group for fellow OneCoin victims to help them cope as they come to terms with the fact that they may never recoup their investments.
The movie Fake! follows in the footsteps of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) podcast TV show based on Ignatova.
Fake! promises to be a blockbuster so, grab your popcorn.
Image courtesy of pixabay.
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