What I really learned from Bonofa and OneCoin
I always wanted to be self-employed. Not dependent, not reliant on a boss – doing my own thing. And then came Bonofa.
The one who had invited me was none other than my boss at the time – someone I had a great deal of respect for, my mentor. I was curious, open-minded – and said yes without thinking twice. The presentation? Glossy. The idea? Brilliant. Products, an online system, earning opportunities, community. I was hooked – this was my springboard into self-employment. And I was 100% behind it.
An acquaintance even told me: “The webinar programme alone is worth the money.” And I thought: There you go – products, system, success. What could go wrong?
I organised evening meetings, drove to events, invited friends. The motto was always: “Bring someone along – we’ll convince them.” I borrowed money, invested, convinced others. I was convinced – this was my path.
Then came the big event – and with it the police. The Kripo was standing right there in the hall while we celebrated in high spirits. It was later said to have had nothing directly to do with Bonofa, but with other investments that were legally problematic. But either way: it was over.
But nobody thought of giving up. “We have a successor,” it was said. The Bonofa credit could be transferred to OneCoin – as starting capital for the new opportunity. And this time it was even bigger: a coin that was supposed to be better than Bitcoin. You just had to sign up others, then you could “mine”, it was “split”, your account balance grew – and the alleged value of the coins right along with it.
There was even a shop – DealShaker – where you could pay for products, houses, even cars with OneCoin. Madness.
And then? Then Ruja was gone. Simply disappeared. No answers, no payout. Everything crumbled. And at some point a letter arrived from the Kripo. I had to go to Saarbrücken for questioning – because I had been involved. But I was just one of many who had believed. A small, fooled nobody.
I was told there that the phones of the “big guys” had been tapped. And that people had apparently had a good laugh at us small believers. May they rot in hell.
What I have learned from it today
- If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
- Trust alone isn’t enough – even mentors can be wrong or be taken in.
- A real product is no proof of a functioning business model.
- Network models often don’t reward those who do the work – but those who convince others early on.
- Greed is quiet. It disguises itself as vision.
I am not ashamed of what happened. I was open, I was brave, I was naive. Today I am more cautious – but not bitter. I share this story because I know: there are many people out there in a similar situation. And if one person pays less tuition because they read this – then it was worth it.
👉 If you have questions, are affected yourself, or want to talk about it: write to me. I’m not a financial advisor. But I am honest.