SEC Charges Promoter with Conducting Cryptocurrency Investment Scams

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it charged Ryan Ginster of Corona, California with conducting two unregistered and fraudulent securities offerings that raised over $3.6 million in cryptocurrency from retail investors. The SEC’s complaint alleges that, from 2018 to 2021, Ginster raised approximately $3.6 million in Bitcoin through two online platforms—MyMicroProfits.com and Social Profimatic—that promised astronomical rates of return by falsely claiming returns through, amongst other activities, purported "cryptocurrency trading and advertising arbitrage." The complaint also alleges that Ginster deceived investors in both offerings about, among other things, how their funds would be used, because Ginster misappropriated at least $1 million of the funds raised to pay personal expenses, including tax payments, housing expenses, and credit card bills.