Ryan Mark Ginster, 34, of Corona, California, is facing federal charges in a brazen cryptocurrency fraud scheme that raked in more than $5 million from duped investors. Arrested in Los Angeles on a San Francisco federal complaint, Ginster stands accused of orchestrating a web of fake investment platforms designed to vanish with users’ digital wallets. The scam, which ran from February 2018 to February 2021, preyed on the anonymity and irreversibility of crypto transactions to lock victims out of their funds for good.
At the center of the fraud was Socialprofimatic.com, a site Ginster created and operated that promised investors an impossible 8% return per day with no risk. Investors were told their money would fund social media marketing campaigns—lies laid bare by federal investigators. The site collected $844,667 in cryptocurrency before abruptly shutting down after just 38 days. No returns. No warnings. Just silence—and millions funneled into Ginster’s control.
But Socialprofimatic.com was just one tentacle of the operation. The affidavit details four other nearly identical websites: MyMicroProfits.com, Automaticbitcome.com, eProfithub.io, and YourNetProfits.com. Each promised sky-high returns, demanded payments exclusively in cryptocurrency, and disappeared within weeks of launch. All were used to siphon funds directly into Ginster’s pockets, leaving a trail of digital wreckage and financially gutted victims.
Federal prosecutors allege the total haul across all five sites exceeded $5 million in cryptocurrency at the time of the transactions. Ginster is now charged with one count of wire fraud and six counts of money laundering under Title 18, United States Code. The wire fraud charge carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence; each money laundering count carries up to 10 years. Fines and mandatory restitution will follow if convicted, but the damage may already be irreversible for many victims.
The case is being handled by the Corporate and Securities Fraud Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, with investigation led by the IRS-Criminal Investigation Washington D.C. Cyber Crimes Unit. Simultaneously, the Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a civil enforcement action in the Central District of California, signaling a dual-track legal assault on Ginster’s alleged crimes.
Charges remain allegations under federal law—Ginster is presumed innocent until proven guilty. But the pattern is unmistakable: short-lived websites, extravagant promises, and a flood of cryptocurrency vanishing without a trace. If you believe you were victimized, the IRS-CI urges you to contact emsvictim@ci.irs.gov. The criminal complaint is available via PACER for public review.
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Key Facts
- State: California
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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