A 42-year-old Ukrainian national, Olena Oblamska, known as Lola Ferrari, has been extradited from Thailand to the United States to face charges related to a $340 million cryptocurrency fraud scheme. Oblamska appeared in a federal court in Oregon following her extradition, where she was indicted for conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Oblamska is accused of being one of the four founders of Forsage, a cryptocurrency investment platform that prosecutors allege operated as a Ponzi and pyramid scheme. The scheme falsely promoted Forsage as a legitimate and low-risk investment opportunity, leading to approximately $340 million in losses for investors.
Arrested in February by Thailand’s Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau at a condominium in central Phuket, Oblamska was extradited to the U.S. in early May. She made her initial court appearance on May 12, where she pleaded not guilty and was ordered to remain in custody until her jury trial, which is set for July.
Prosecutors described Oblamska as the self-proclaimed “goddess” of the fraudulent operation, which was purportedly managed by Dubai-based Russian Vladimir Okhotnikov. Okhotnikov, who is also known for his involvement in Kevin Spacey’s film “Holiguards Saga — The Portal of Force,” has fled to the United Arab Emirates amid criminal charges from both U.S. and Georgian authorities.
As part of their investigation, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) analyzed Okhotnikov’s business dealings in connection with the crypto industry’s exploitation of illicit financial flows.
Court documents reveal that Oblamska, Okhotnikov, and their co-defendants launched Forsage in 2019, using social media and online marketing to promote the platform globally. Investigators claim that participants were required to purchase positions in the program using cryptocurrency, with funds from new investors redistributed to earlier participants, indicative of a classic Ponzi or pyramid scheme structure.
U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford announced Oblamska’s extradition in May, although the Department of Justice, FBI, and Thai authorities had refrained from confirming her arrest prior to that announcement. If convicted, Oblamska could face a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. Alongside her, Okhotnikov and two other associates, Mikhail Sergeev and Sergey Maslakov, are also at risk of facing prison time.
During Oblamska’s arrest in February, cyber crime officers executed a court-issued warrant at a condominium in Chalong, a subdistrict of Phuket, where they seized mobile phones, a laptop, an iPad, and various documents. Prior to her arrest, Oblamska was believed to be on the run in Bali and was previously identified as Russian.
Prosecutors have indicated that blockchain analysis shows that the majority of participants in Forsage incurred losses. Reports suggest that over 80% of investors received less cryptocurrency than they invested, with more than half of them receiving no payout whatsoever. Despite warnings and investigations from regulators in several countries, the founders continued to promote the platform.
In a related development, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed civil charges against individuals connected to Forsage. While Oblamska and Okhotnikov claimed that 50 individuals became millionaires through Forsage, authorities dispute this assertion. They found that only one user ID, controlled by the defendants, received over a million dollars in cryptocurrency from the scheme.
The Department of Justice is urging all victims of the Forsage scheme to come forward.
Source: International Consortium of Investigative Journalists – ICIJ
