SAN FRANCISCO โ Ryan Mark Ginster pleaded guilty today in federal court to wire fraud related to an online investment website designed to defraud investors, announced U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds and Special Agent in Charge Darrell J. Waldon of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Washington DC Field Office.
In a written plea agreement he filed today, Ginster, 35, of Corona, California, admitted that he operated a website as of February 2018 called Socialprofimatic.com. He designed the website with the intent to defraud investors by making false representations about cryptocurrency investment opportunities. At Socialprofimatic.com, Ginster represented that investments with Socialprofimatic.com would receive returns of 8% per day, stating that โThis will be JOB REPLACEMENT income, income that will pay you every hour of every day, even when your [sic] sleeping or on vacation.โ Furthermore, he claimed on the website that investors could โrequest their profits anytime they want and it will be paid INSTANTLY to their Bitcoin/Litecoin wallet.โ Ginster admitted that these and many other claims on his website were completely false and intended solely to influence investors to part with their money or property. In the 38 days that the Socialprofimatic.com website was active, the website received approximately 9,026 bitcoin deposits totaling approximately 98.12089739 BTC, valued at approximately $844,667 at the time. Ginster admitted that he did not invest the funds, instead depositing them into his own cryptocurrency wallet. That cryptocurrency is now worth more than $1.6 million.
Ginster pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley, who scheduled a sentencing hearing for Ginster on March 29, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. Ginster remains out of custody pending sentencing.
Ginster pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Any post-conviction sentence, however, would only be imposed by a court after considering the United States Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing sentencing, 18 USC ยง 3553.
The case is being prosecuted by the Securities and Corporate Fraud Section of the US Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California. This prosecution is the result of an investigation by the IRS-CI Washington DC CyberCrime Unit.
The Securities and Exchange Commission's Los Angeles Regional Office also filed a civil action against Ginster in the Central District of California. That action is pending.
If you believe you have been a victim of this fraud scheme, please contact the IRS-Criminal Investigation at emsvictim@ci.irs.gov or visit the following website:
https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/us-v-ryan-mark-ginster-22-cr-00374-jsc
The criminal complaint in this matter can be viewed on PACER or by visiting the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California at www.justice.gov/usao-ndca where press releases are published.
