Overview
- Rathnakishore “Ravi” Giri was sentenced to nine years in federal prison and three years of supervised release for running a cryptocurrency investment fraud.
- Prosecutors said he posed as an expert in Bitcoin derivatives, guaranteed profits and principal, and paid earlier investors with money from new ones in a classic Ponzi setup.
- The scheme raised more than $10 million from hundreds of people, with many victims in the Columbus, Ohio area who were reached through trust-based personal networks.
- Giri pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in October 2024, then admitted he kept soliciting new funds while on pretrial release, which added to the harm.
- The CFTC filed a related civil case in August 2022, the FBI investigated, the DOJ’s Fraud Section prosecuted, and authorities urged victims to report losses through the FBI’s IC3 website.