Ohio Investment Manager Sentenced to 9 Years for $10 Million Cryptocurrency Ponzi Scheme

COLUMBUS, Ohio – An Ohio man was sentenced to nine years in federal prison Tuesday for orchestrating a cryptocurrency investment fraud scheme that raised more than $10 million from investors, many of whom lived in or around Columbus, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Rathnakishore Giri, 31, of New Albany, was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term.

The sentence caps a scheme in which Giri fraudulently promoted himself as an expert cryptocurrency trader with a specialty in trading Bitcoin derivatives, prosecutors said. He falsely promised investors lucrative returns with no risk to their principal investment, which he guaranteed to return.

Ponzi Structure and History of Losses

In reality, court documents show, Giri often used money provided by new investors to repay old investors — the defining characteristic of a Ponzi scheme.

Prosecutors said Giri also had a record of investment failures, including a long history of losing investors’ principal investments. When investors sought to cash out or otherwise obtain the return of their “guaranteed” principal, Giri misled them about the reasons for delays.

Giri pleaded guilty in October 2024 to one count of wire fraud. However, following his guilty plea and while on pretrial release pending sentencing, he continued to solicit funds from cryptocurrency investors, causing additional harm to new victims.

In advance of Tuesday’s sentencing, Giri admitted to this additional conduct under an amended plea agreement with the Department of Justice.

California Medical Company Owner Pleads Guilty to Stealing Over $1 Million in Pandemic Relief Funds, Bought Porsche

LOS ANGELES – The owner of two Southern California non-emergency medical transport companies pleaded guilty Monday to wire fraud and money laundering for stealing more than $1 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds, including money he used to help buy a 2019 Porsche Turbo Cabriolet, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Mehrdad Tabrizi, the sole owner of Life Fleet Inc. and Resonante Group — both based in Orange County — submitted fraudulent applications to the U.S. Small Business Administration for Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan funds, prosecutors said.

The PPP and EIDL programs were established to provide financial assistance to Americans suffering economic harm during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fraudulent Claims on Shuttered Company

In May 2020 and March 2021, Tabrizi submitted two fraudulent PPP loan applications falsely claiming that Life Fleet Inc. was in operation and had employees who received wages in 2019 and 2020, according to court documents.

In reality, Tabrizi had shuttered the company in 2018, and it had been non-operational since then, prosecutors said.

As a result of the fraudulent applications, the SBA’s lending partner disbursed approximately $696,565 in PPP funds to bank accounts Tabrizi controlled.

Additional EIDL Fraud

Separately, in June and July 2020, Tabrizi submitted two fraudulent EIDL applications to the SBA falsely claiming that both Life Fleet Inc. and Resonante Group had gross revenues and had paid for goods in the 12 months prior to January 2020.

Those applications led the SBA to transmit an additional $319,800 to bank accounts Tabrizi controlled.

Prosecutors noted that neither company was entitled to receive any funds under either program.

In May 2020, Tabrizi withdrew $60,000 of the fraudulently obtained money to help purchase a 2019 Porsche Turbo Cabriolet, according to court documents.

Sentencing and Penalties

Tabrizi pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 28, 2026.

He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each wire fraud count and 10 years in prison for money laundering. A federal district court judge will determine the final sentence after considering U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

California Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Laundering Millions in Drug Money, Lying Under Oath

MOBILE, AL – A California man was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison Tuesday for conspiring to launder millions of dollars for a drug trafficking organization and for providing false testimony in court, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Mohammed Zohair Adi, 58, a dual citizen of the United States and Syria, received a 180-month sentence in the Southern District of Alabama. The court also imposed a $50,000 fine and a three-year term of supervised release.

Sophisticated Money Laundering Operation

According to court documents, Adi helped launder millions of dollars for a drug trafficking organization that transported more than 1,000 kilograms of high-grade marijuana from California to Alabama, often on commercial flights via drug couriers.

Adi operated multiple corporate entities and bank accounts to launder the proceeds of drug sales. At times, he structured financial transactions to avoid triggering currency transaction reporting requirements, prosecutors said.

The laundered drug money was used for several purposes, including promoting drug trafficking and maintaining California-based real estate properties, some of which served as marijuana grow sites.

False Testimony After Guilty Plea

On January 30, 2023, Adi pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit money laundering. Just weeks later, on March 14, 2023, he falsely testified before a judge in the Southern District of Alabama at a detention hearing for co-defendant Navjit Bhullar.

At the time, both Adi and Bhullar were on pretrial release and under court order not to communicate with co-defendants about case-related matters. Adi testified that he had met with Bhullar only once while on pretrial release, in mid-January 2023, in a one-on-one meeting where they discussed their criminal case.

In truth, Adi also met Bhullar in person in February 2023, with others present, at an office in Sacramento, California, and discussed the criminal case — including Adi’s guilty plea — in violation of the court’s no-contact rule. Adi later lied to the Drug Enforcement Administration about his contacts with Bhullar.

On March 2, 2026, Adi pleaded guilty to providing false testimony under oath before the court.

Judge’s Remarks and Co-Defendant Status

In imposing the sentence, the court noted that Adi was a leader of the money laundering conspiracy, significantly involved in a serious federal crime, and that laundering drug funds was critical to the operations of a drug trafficking organization.

Co-defendant Navjit Bhullar is scheduled to be sentenced on June 29. Ten other co-defendants have already been sentenced in connection with the case.

“This defendant helped launder millions of dollars for a drug trafficking organization to conceal drug sale proceeds,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Dismantling criminal organizations is a critical priority for the Department.”

“For years, Adi and his coconspirators used a sophisticated web of corporations and bank accounts to launder millions of dollars’ worth of profits from illegal drug sales in the Mobile area,” said U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello for the Southern District of Alabama.

Special Agent in Charge Steven Hofer of the DEA New Orleans Field Division added: “This individual not only used sophisticated financial webs to conceal and profit from illegal drug trafficking, but he also chose to lie under oath to protect his criminal enterprise. This sentence sends a clear message.”