The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is going after an Ohio man who allegedly defrauded over 150 investors in a BTC investment scam.
In a complaint filed in the Southern District of Ohio, the regulator accused Rathnakishore Giri of soliciting over $12 million from investors under the promise that he would invest their money in digital assets. He also solicited at least 10 BTC, which at the time were worth at least $240,000.
In a scheme that the watchdog claims stretched as far back as March 2019, Giri allegedly solicited 150+ clients to invest in his two firms, NBD Eidetic and SR Private Equity. The New Albany, Ohio resident, presented himself to be an experienced digital asset trader, a claim that the regulator says is false.
He further claimed he could guarantee customers returns of between 5% and 10% per month and that they were guaranteed they couldn’t lose their money. Investors would be able to withdraw their funds whenever they desired, he further told them, yet another claim that was false.
Upon receipt of the customer funds, Giri commingled them with his own personal funds, as well as putting them in accounts controlled by his parents, Giri Subramani and Loka Pavani Giri, who were also named as relief defendants in the case.
Giri used some of the funds from the latter clients to pay interest to the earlier clients, akin to a Ponzi scheme. He then used the rest of the money to fund a lavish lifestyle that included luxurious vacations and shopping…
