PGI Executive Sentenced to 20 Years in $200M Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme

The CEO of PGI has spent millions on luxury cars, homes, hotels, designer clothes, jewelry and watches using investor funds.

The US Department of Justice announced that Ramil Ventura Palafox, the CEO of Praetorian Group International (PGI), was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Prosecutors say Palafox operated a $200 million Bitcoin-based Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 90,000 investors worldwide.

Bitcoin Fraud Case

According to court documents, Palafox, 61, a citizen of the United States and the Philippines, owned and controlled PGI and served as chairman, chief executive officer and chief executive. Prosecutors say Palafox lied that PGI was involved in Bitcoin trading and marketed the company as a multi-level marketing investment opportunity. He promised investors daily returns ranging from 0.5% to 3%.

In reality, PGI was not trading Bitcoin at a rate capable of generating those returns, and investor payments were financed using victims’ deposits or money from new investors. From December 2019 to October 2021, at least 90,000 investors invested more than $201 million in PGI, including about $30.3 million in fiat currency and at least 8,198 BTC, worth about $171.5 million during that time.

As a result of this scheme, the losses of the investors increased to more than 62 million dollars. Court records reveal that Palafox created an online PGI portal that allowed investors to track what he represented as their investment performance. Between 2020 and 2021, the website consistently and fraudulently displayed returns, leading victims to believe that their investment was profitable and secure.

Luxury Cars, Mansions, and Lies

Palafox spent nearly $3 million on 20 luxury cars, including models from Porsche, Lamborghini, McLaren, Ferrari, BMW, and Bentley. He also spent about $329,000 buying penthouse suites at a luxury hotel and bought four homes in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, worth more than $6 million.

Additional spending included nearly $3 million in luxury clothing, watches, jewelry, and home furnishings from retailers such as Louboutin, Neiman Marcus, Gucci, Versace, Ferragamo, Valentino, Cartier, Rolex, and Hermès. Prosecutors said Palafox also transferred at least $800,000 in fiat currency and 100 BTC, which was equivalent to $3.3 million, to a family member.

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The Justice Department said PGI victims may be eligible for restitution.

Separately, PGI Global’s UK business was banned by the United Kingdom High Court back in 2022. In April 2025, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Palafox with organizing a massive Ponzi scheme.