Rathnakishore Giri, a 31-year-old investment manager from the state of Ohio, was sentenced to nine years in prison for operating a Ponzi scheme crypto that defrauded investors out of a total of $10 million. Alongside the conviction, the court imposed three years of supervised release following his guilty plea on one count of wire fraud in October 2024.
The scheme involved promising guaranteed returns through Bitcoin derivatives trading. Rather than investing the funds, Giri used money from new victims to pay earlier participants, the classic mechanism of a Ponzi scheme.
Ohio Investment Manager Sentenced to Nine Years for $10M Cryptocurrency Ponzi Schemehttps://t.co/oKB4gL7ZDY
— Criminal Division (@DOJCrimDiv) May 18, 2026
To project an image of success, he presented himself as a wealthy investor surrounded by luxury cars, including two Lamborghinis, a Tesla, and an Audi R8, along with high-end watches, private jet flights, and exclusive vacation rentals.
The Ohio Office of Public Affairs reported that Giri continued committing fraud even after pleading guilty: while awaiting sentencing on conditional release, he kept raising funds from new investors and caused additional harm to new victims.
Crypto fraud continues to expand. According to the FBI, Americans lost more than $11 billion to cryptocurrency-related crimes in 2025, 22% more than the previous year.
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