Bitcoin Ponzi trader gets 9 years for $10M Ohio scheme
An Ohio investment manager has received a nine-year prison sentence for running a $10 million Bitcoin trading Ponzi scheme that misled crypto investors.
- Giri received nine years after prosecutors said his Bitcoin derivatives scheme raised over $10 million.
- He pleaded guilty in 2024, then admitted soliciting more crypto investors before sentencing hearing date.
- FBI data shows crypto-linked complaints caused $11.36 billion in losses during 2025 across America overall.
Rathnakishore Giri, 31, of New Albany, Ohio, was sentenced to nine years in federal prison and three years of supervised release. The U.S. Department of Justice said the scheme raised more than $10 million from investors, many based in or near Columbus, Ohio.
Giri pleaded guilty in October 2024 to one count of wire fraud. Prosecutors said he later admitted that he kept asking new crypto investors for money while on pretrial release and waiting for sentencing.
Bitcoin derivatives returns were falsely guaranteed
The Justice Department said Giri promoted himself as an expert crypto trader focused on Bitcoin derivatives. He told investors he could generate strong returns with no risk to their original capital.
Prosecutors said Giri did not run the operation as promised. Instead, he used money from new investors to pay earlier investors, which the DOJ called “a hallmark of a Ponzi scheme.”
The DOJ also said Giri had a record of investment failures. When investors asked to withdraw funds or recover their “guaranteed” principal, he gave misleading reasons for delays.
CFTC case tied Giri to $12M solicitation
The criminal sentence followed earlier civil action from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. In 2022, the CFTC charged Giri and his companies, NBD Eidetic Capital LLC and SR Private Equity LLC, with fraud tied to digital asset trading funds.
The CFTC said Giri and the firms solicited more than $12 million and over 10 Bitcoin from more than 150 customers. The agency accused them of misusing customer funds that were meant for digital asset trading.
The DOJ said the FBI investigated the criminal case. The agency also directed crypto fraud victims to file reports through the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
Crypto fraud losses remain high in 2025
The case comes as crypto fraud remains a major area for U.S. law enforcement. The FBI’s 2025 IC3 report recorded 181,565 complaints involving cryptocurrency and $11.366 billion in losses, up 22% from 2024.
The report also showed that crypto investment fraud alone drew 61,559 complaints and $7.228 billion in losses in 2025. That category remains one of the largest sources of reported crypto-related losses.
Separate coverage by crypto.news recently tracked another large case involving Goliath Ventures, where federal prosecutors accused Christopher Delgado of running a $328 million crypto Ponzi scheme. Investors also sued JPMorgan Chase, claiming the bank processed funds tied to the alleged scheme.
Giri’s sentence adds another federal penalty to the growing list of crypto investment fraud cases. It also shows that prosecutors are watching schemes that promise guaranteed Bitcoin trading returns while using new investor funds to repay earlier participants.
