Ramil Ventura Palafox, the 61-year-old CEO of Praetorian Group International (PGI), has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for running a global $200 million Bitcoin Ponzi scheme.
A dual U.S.–Philippines citizen, Palafox defrauded more than 90,000 investors worldwide between December 2019 and October 2021.
How the Scheme Worked
Palafox promoted PGI as a high-volume Bitcoin trading and arbitrage firm. Investors were promised daily returns ranging from 0.5% to 3%, claims that suggested consistent and unusually strong performance.
In reality, PGI did not generate legitimate trading profits. Instead, it operated as a classic Ponzi structure, using funds from new investors to pay earlier participants.
According to court filings, investors deposited more than $201 million, including:
- $30.3 million in fiat currency
- 8,198 Bitcoin, then valued at approximately $171.5 million
Confirmed victim losses exceed $62.7 million, which the court ordered Palafox to repay in restitution.
Lavish Spending With Investor Funds
Prosecutors from the U.S. Department of Justice detailed how Palafox diverted millions of dollars to finance a luxury lifestyle.
Court evidence showed:
- Around $3 million spent on 20 high-end vehicles, including Lamborghini, Ferrari, McLaren, and Bentley
- More than $6 million used to purchase four homes in Las Vegas and Los Angeles
- $329,000 spent on luxury hotel penthouse suites
- Another $3 million on designer clothing, watches, and jewelry from brands like Rolex, Cartier, Gucci, and Hermès
- At least $800,000 in cash and 100 BTC (valued at $3.3 million at the time) transferred to a family member
Federal Conviction
Palafox pleaded guilty in September 2025 to wire fraud and money laundering charges. His sentence was handed down in federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia.
The case adds to a growing list of crypto-related fraud prosecutions in the United States, as authorities continue to target large-scale investment schemes that exploited the rapid rise of digital assets during the 2020–2021 market cycle.
