{"id":72781,"date":"2026-05-20T03:58:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T03:58:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/doj-says-10m-crypto-scheme-continued-after-guilty-plea-adding-victims\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T03:58:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T03:58:41","slug":"doj-says-10m-crypto-scheme-continued-after-guilty-plea-adding-victims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/doj-says-10m-crypto-scheme-continued-after-guilty-plea-adding-victims\/","title":{"rendered":"DOJ Says $10M Crypto Scheme Continued After Guilty Plea, Adding Victims"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News )<\/b><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"@container mb-[25px] rounded-sm overflow-clip py-0.5 pr-0.5 pl-2.5 bg-success-100\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-col gap-m overflow-clip rounded-[6px] !bg-success-10 p-3 @[420px]:p-m\">\n<h2 class=\"m-0 flex items-center gap-s text-[19px] !text-[#1c1c1c] md:text-[20px]\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"16\" height=\"10\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 10\" fill=\"none\" class=\"shrink-0 text-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M1 1.5h14\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><path d=\"M1 8.5h10\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><\/svg><span>Key Takeaways<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul class=\"m-0 flex list-none flex-col gap-m pl-0\">\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Prosecutors said additional cryptocurrency investors lost money after Giri\u2019s guilty plea was entered.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Authorities linked the fraud scheme to more than $10 million in investor funds.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Investigators said newer deposits were used to repay earlier participants in the operation.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Ohio <span>Crypto<\/span> Fraud Scheme Leads to 9-Year Sentence<\/h2>\n<p>A <span>cryptocurrency<\/span> investment fraud scheme that raised more than $10 million from investors led to a nine-year prison sentence for Rathnakishore Giri, 31, of New Albany, Ohio. The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the sentence on May 18, 2026. Many investors affected by the scheme lived in or around Columbus, Ohio. The sentence also includes three years of supervised release.<\/p>\n<p>Investors were told Giri was an expert <span>cryptocurrency<\/span> trader with a specialty in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.binance.com\/en\/price\/bitcoin\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">bitcoin<\/a> derivatives. He promised lucrative returns while guaranteeing that their principal would face no risk. Court documents showed a different operation. Funds from newer investors often repaid earlier investors, a hallmark of a Ponzi scheme. He also had a record of investment failures, including losses of investor principal. The Justice Department detailed:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cAn Ohio man was sentenced today to nine years in prison and three years of supervised release for orchestrating a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/a-quick-introduction-to-crypto\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cryptocurrency<\/a> investment fraud scheme that raised over $10 million from investors, many of whom resided in or around Columbus, Ohio.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>A guilty plea came in October 2024, when Giri admitted to one count of wire fraud. He later acknowledged more misconduct through an amended plea agreement with the department. The additional conduct occurred while he remained on pretrial release before sentencing.<\/p>\n<h2>FBI Investigation Details Investor Repayment Pattern<\/h2>\n<p>Investigators found that Giri misled investors when they sought to cash out or recover their guaranteed principal. He gave false explanations for delays and concealed the condition of their investments. The case centered on promises of safe principal, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/a-quick-introduction-to-crypto\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cryptocurrency<\/a> trading expertise, and returns that prosecutors said were supported by investor money rather than disclosed trading success.<\/p>\n<p>The DOJ stated:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cFollowing his guilty plea, while on pretrial release pending sentencing, Giri continued to solicit funds from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/a-quick-introduction-to-crypto\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cryptocurrency<\/a> investors, causing additional harm to new victims.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The sentence marks a sentencing development in a case involving more than $10 million in investor funds. After completing his prison term, Giri will remain under supervised release for three years.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/doj-says-10m-crypto-scheme-continued-after-guilty-plea-adding-victims\/\">Source link <\/a><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News ) Key Takeaways Prosecutors said additional cryptocurrency investors lost money after Giri\u2019s guilty plea was entered. Authorities linked the fraud scheme to more than $10 million in investor funds. Investigators said newer deposits were used to repay earlier participants in the operation. Ohio Crypto Fraud Scheme Leads to 9-Year [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":72782,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72781"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72781"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72781\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}