The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CTFC) has charged a man from Ohio with soliciting more than $12 million and 10 Bitcoin (BTC) in an alleged Ponzi scheme.
The civil enforcement action pursued by CTFC is against Rathnakishore Giri and his two companies for allegedly fraudulently soliciting funds from 150 clients, according to a new press release.
The defendant's parents, Giri Subramani and Loka Pavani Giri, are also being charged as relief defendants by the CFTC for allegedly possessing funds in which they have no legitimate interest.
According to the complaint, the defendants engaged in a fraudulent scheme in which they solicited and accepted over $12 million and more than 10 Bitcoin from at least 150 customers to invest in various digital asset investment funds purportedly operated by the defendants from approximately March 2019 to the present.
The complaint alleges that the defendants made numerous false and misleading statements to customers in their solicitations, including guarantees of profits and Giri's alleged success as a digital asset trader.
They also claimed that the defendants excluded substantial facts, such as how they misappropriated customer funds to pay profits to other customers in a Ponzi scheme-like manner and to sponsor Giri's lavish lifestyle, including yacht rentals, luxury vacations, and luxury shopping.
The complaint also claims that when the defendants transferred customer funds to Giri and the relief defendants' personal bank and digital asset trading accounts, the defendants entwined customer funds with Giri and the relief defendants' funds.
However, the CFTC has released multiple customer protection Fraud Advisories and Articles that provide warning signs of fraud, including one in collaboration with the Securities and Exchange Commission to inform the public of the potential risks associated with investing or speculating in virtual currencies or recently launched Bitcoin futures and options.
The CFTC also strongly advises the public to confirm a company's CFTC registration before committing funds.
