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CEO Pleads Guilty in ‘$200M Bitcoin Fraud’ That Duped 90,000 Investors With Fake 3% Daily Returns

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Ramil Ventura Palafox, the chief government of a bitcoin funding and multi-level advertising agency, has pleaded responsible to wire fraud and cash laundering. According to federal authorities, he orchestrated a Ponzi scheme that defrauded greater than 90,000 international traders.

The 60-year-old twin citizen of the United States and the Philippines admitted in federal courtroom that he used Praetorian Group International (PGI) to lure traders with false guarantees of day by day earnings.

Between December 2019 and October 2021, PGI raised greater than $201 million, together with $30.3 million in money and over 8,000 bitcoin valued at roughly $171.5 million.

In April, the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Palafox and PGI Global for defrauding investors of $198 million in a crypto and foreign exchange Ponzi scheme.

The SEC alleged that he misused funds for luxurious purchases and paying different traders till the corporate collapsed. Notably, PGI’s web site was seized in 2021, shutting down its UK operations.

Fake Bitcoin Trading Guru Stole $62M for Lambos & Penthouses

Palafox claimed that PGI was engaged in high-volume bitcoin buying and selling and promised traders day by day returns of 0.5 to three%. According to prosecutors, PGI didn’t function at a stage able to delivering such earnings. Instead, Palafox used funds from new traders to pay earlier ones, the hallmark of a Ponzi scheme.

To preserve the scheme working, Palafox launched an investor portal that displayed fabricated account development. The system confirmed members their investments have been gaining worth, reinforcing the phantasm of safety and profitability.

Court paperwork present that Palafox diverted hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in investor funds for private use. He spent about $3 million on 20 luxurious automobiles, together with Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche, McLaren, Bentley, and BMW fashions.

He additionally bought 4 properties in Las Vegas and Los Angeles price greater than $6 million, paid $329,000 for penthouse resort stays, and spent one other $3 million on clothes, watches, jewellery, and furnishings from high-end retailers similar to Cartier, Rolex, Gucci, and Hermes.

Palafox additionally transferred no less than $800,000 in money and 100 bitcoin, then price $3.3 million, to a member of the family.

Although PGI raised greater than $201 million, prosecutors mentioned victims collectively misplaced no less than $62.7 million. Many traders have been left with out entry to their funds after the scheme collapsed in late 2021.

As a part of his plea settlement, Palafox has now agreed to pay the $62.7 million in restitution to victims. Victims are anticipated to test for updates on the Justice Department’s official web site.

In addition, Palafox will probably be sentenced on February 3, 2026, earlier than the U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema. He faces a most of 40 years in jail however is anticipated to obtain much less beneath federal sentencing pointers.

Ramil Ventura Palafox’s Case Adds to the Growing List of Crypto Ponzi Scheme

Earlier this month, Nathan Fuller, proprietor of Privvy Investments, was denied bankruptcy protection after a Texas courtroom dominated he ran a Ponzi scheme, hid property, and lied beneath oath. The U.S. Trustee Program secured a default judgment blocking his bid to erase $12.5 million in money owed, leaving him personally liable.

Also this month, Kevin Spacey’s new movie, Holiguards Saga—The Portal of Force, is linked to controversy as co-writer and actor Vladimir Okhotnikov faces U.S. charges over a $340 million crypto Ponzi scheme tied to Forsage.

Meanwhile, the CFTC secured a $228.6 million judgment towards pastor Eddy Alexandre, who defrauded 25,000 traders of $262 million by his crypto Ponzi scheme EminiFX. Similar to Palafox, he promised 5–10% weekly returns utilizing a faux “robo-advisor” system and is already serving 9 years for commodities fraud.

The lists of crypto Ponzi schemes are countless. In August, Estonians Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turõgin have been sentenced to time served for the $577 million HashFlare Ponzi scheme, ordered to pay fines, carry out neighborhood service, and forfeit $450 million in property.

The publish CEO Pleads Guilty in ‘$200M Bitcoin Fraud’ That Duped 90,000 Investors With Fake 3% Daily Returns appeared first on Cryptonews.

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