Ohio Investment Manager Arrested for Allegedly Running a $10M Cryptocurrency Ponzi Scheme

The U.S. CFTC had previously taken legal action against the man.

Nov 18, 2022 at 10:27 p.m. UTC

Updated Nov 22, 2022 at 4:19 p.m. UTC

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Rathnakishore Giri, a 27-year-old investment manager living in New Albany, Ohio, was arrested on Friday on criminal charges for alleging running a cryptocurrency investment scam that raised at least $10 million from investors, according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release.

Giri allegedly misled investor by promoting himself as an expert cryptocurrency trader with a specialty in bitcoin derivatives. According to the indictment, Giri falsely promised investors lucrative returns on the money they invested with him, with no risk to principal. In reality, he used funds from previous investors to pay off new investors in a classic Ponzi scheme setup.

Giri is charged with five counts of wire fraud and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prior on each count if convicted.

In August, the U.S. Commodity Futures and Trading Commission (CFTC) issued a cease-and-desist order against Giri and his two companies, alleging he cheated investors out of more than $12 million and seeking to get Giri to pay back his investors. The CFTC charged that Giri used investors’ money to fund a lavish lifestyle of private jets, yacht rentals and more.

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