Rathnakishore Giri, a 31-year-old investment manager from New Albany, Ohio, was sentenced to nine years in federal prison on Monday for orchestrating a $10 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors over multiple years. Giri marketed himself as an experienced cryptocurrency and Bitcoin derivatives trader, promising clients lucrative returns with no risk to their principal and guaranteeing that their original investment would be returned on demand. In reality, prosecutors said he was routing new investor funds to earlier participants in a classic Ponzi structure while accumulating a record of failed trades and lost client capital behind the scenes. When investors attempted to withdraw their money, Giri provided fabricated explanations for delays to buy time and keep the scheme running.Federal authorities first indicted Giri in November 2022 on five counts of wire fraud, and he pleaded guilty to one count in October 2024.

What made the case particularly egregious was that Giri continued raising money from new crypto investors even after entering his guilty plea and while awaiting sentencing, conduct he later admitted to as part of an amended plea agreement with the Department of Justice. The amended agreement factored into Monday's nine-year sentence, which also includes three years of supervised release following his prison term. The Justice Department's Fraud Section prosecuted the case with Acting Deputy Chief Lucy B. Jennings and Trial Attorney Tamara Livshiz leading the prosecution.