Forsage Co-Founder Pleads Not Guilty in $340M Case

Image credit: Unsplash

Olena Oblamska, a 42-year-old Ukrainian national also known as “Lola Ferrari,” has been extradited from Thailand to the United States in the Forsage case, first charged in 2023.

She pleaded not guilty in federal court in Portland, Oregon, after U.S. prosecutors said she was brought to the country last Friday. Oblamska was arraigned on May 12 and ordered detained pending trial.

DOJ Says Forsage Raised About $340M From Investors

The Justice Department alleges Forsage was promoted as a decentralized, low-risk crypto opportunity built around smart contracts. Prosecutors say it actually operated as a global Ponzi and pyramid scheme that took in about $340 million from investors worldwide.

According to the government, the system automatically routed money from new participants to earlier ones. Prosecutors say that the payment structure is central to the fraud theory in the case. The charges remain allegations, and Oblamska is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

July 14 Trial Scheduled in Oregon

Oblamska is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.

Her jury trial is currently scheduled to begin on July 14, 2026. The trial would mark a major step in the U.S. criminal case against the alleged Forsage founders, who were first indicted in 2023.

DOJ Called Forsage First Charged DeFi Ponzi Case

When the indictment was announced, the Justice Department described it as the first charged criminal fraud case involving a DeFi Ponzi scheme. Prosecutors said the alleged founders deployed Forsage smart contracts on Ethereum, BNB Chain and Tron while presenting the platform as a legitimate business opportunity.

The government alleges that Forsage’s smart contracts did not create a real investment product. Instead, prosecutors say they helped automate payments from later investors to earlier participants.

Extradition Gives Prosecutors Live Defendant in Forsage Case

Oblamska’s extradition gives U.S. prosecutors a live defendant in the Forsage criminal case. The case has drawn attention because it targets an alleged fraud built around smart contracts, rather than a conventional crypto exchange or lending platform.

For prosecutors, the next stage is to prove that Forsage’s decentralized structure was used to disguise a pyramid-style payment scheme. For Oblamska, the case now moves toward trial in Oregon after her not-guilty plea.