Justin Rieger: Abuse Findings, Ponzi Scheme, and His Death

Justin Rieger of Taneytown, Maryland, was a 22-year-old substitute teacher, junior varsity girls’ basketball coach, and Young Life youth minister who, according to the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, sexually abused more than half a dozen teenage boys over several years and ran what investors described as a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that lost hundreds of thousands of dollars. He died by suicide at Bollinger Park in Taneytown on February 4, 2025, before any criminal charges were filed.¹

Who He Was

Rieger graduated from Francis Scott Key High School in Carroll County and returned there as a substitute teacher in 2020. During the 2024–2025 school year he also coached the junior varsity girls’ basketball team.¹ Outside the school, he was a leader with Carroll County Young Life, a Christian youth ministry that put him in regular contact with local teenagers.²

What Investigators Found About the Abuse

In January 2025, several boys reported to authorities that Rieger had sexually assaulted them.³ The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office ultimately concluded that he had abused more than half a dozen boys over several years, specifically targeting students at Francis Scott Key High School.⁴

According to the sheriff’s office, Rieger used his standing as a teacher and youth leader to build trust with families, took an interest in boys’ personal lives and faith, and bought them gifts. He invited small groups to sleepovers at the home he shared first with his parents and later with his wife, where he encouraged nudity and physical contact. One victim told investigators the abuse happened at every sleepover. Detectives recovered nearly a dozen videos of nude or semi-nude teenage boys from Rieger’s phone.⁴ Major David Stem of the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office said the alleged assaults did not take place at the school.⁵

The Alleged Ponzi Scheme

At the same time, the sheriff’s office was receiving reports of financial fraud. Rieger had solicited investments by claiming to have a foolproof cryptocurrency trading algorithm that produced huge returns at no risk. Early investors reportedly saw annual returns as high as 200 percent, which drew in more participants through personal networks.⁶

Investors called it a Ponzi scheme. Nikos Phelps, one of the first to speak publicly, said that among the investors he personally knew the total was north of $600,000, with individual stakes ranging from $3,000 to more than $150,000. He said he knew of roughly two dozen other investors beyond those he had referred himself.⁶ Phelps and Joanna Floros told the Baltimore Sun that the two of them had put in more than $300,000 and feared others had given far more.⁷

The scheme unraveled when investors found they could not pull their money back out, meeting long delays, broken promises, and eventually silence. Social media posts accused Rieger of stealing from multiple people, including an elderly man whose check he allegedly never returned.⁵ The sheriff’s office put losses in the hundreds of thousands and called the known total likely just “the tip of the iceberg.”⁶

A June 2025 Baltimore Sun investigation by reporter Kate Cimini reported that Rieger had spent investor funds on personal purchases, trips, and bills and had lost at least $500,000 of investor money on sports betting apps. The alleged fraud reached investors in at least six states along the eastern seaboard.⁸ The Sun also identified at least $23,000 in cryptocurrency held in wallets linked to Rieger, with at least one wallet connected to a phishing scam.⁹

His Death and the Status of the Case

On the morning of February 4, 2025, Rieger was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at Bollinger Park in Taneytown. Both investigations were still active, and a sheriff’s office spokesman said the case “was not concluded at the time of his death” and that work would continue.¹

Because he died before any charges were filed, no prosecution ever took place. The sheriff’s office indicated that the child sex abuse investigation would close shortly after his death while the financial fraud investigation would stay open.¹⁰

How the School, Young Life, and the Community Responded

After the sheriff’s office notified Carroll County Public Schools about the investigation, officials placed Rieger on administrative leave.¹ Young Life dismissed him from his leadership role after an allegation, which Rieger acknowledged on social media in mid-January 2025. The organization later confirmed the termination, said it was cooperating with police and had “robust safety protocols,” and said it had opened an internal review.²

The Baltimore Sun reported that after the boys came forward in January 2025, parts of the Carroll County community rallied around Rieger rather than the teenage victims, based on law enforcement records and social media activity.³

1
Fox Baltimore. Substitute Teacher’s Death Amid Criminal Probe Raises Questions in Carroll County
2
The Banner. Justin Rieger Carroll County Police Investigation
3
Baltimore Sun. Justin Rieger Taneytown Sexual Abuse
4
Fox Baltimore. Taneytown Substitute Dead by Suicide Molested Threatened Key Boys Report Finds
5
Fox Baltimore. Carroll Substitute Teacher Investigated Child Sex Abuse Fraud
6
Fox Baltimore. Alleged Investors Speak Out as Suspected Ponzi Scheme Unravels in Carroll County
7
Baltimore Sun. Justin Rieger Ponzi Scheme Claims
8
Baltimore Sun. Justin Rieger’s Final Fraud Police Say Taneytown Teacher Spent Investor Funds on Trips Bills Gambling
9
Baltimore Sun. Dead Taneytown Teacher Justin Rieger Accused of Ponzi Scheme Has More Than $23,000 in Cryptocurrency Sun Found
10
Baltimore Sun. Justin Rieger Carroll County Investigation