Ramil Ventura Palafox, the 61-year-old CEO of Praetorian Group International (PGI), was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison after running a sprawling Ponzi scheme that preyed on cryptocurrency and forex investors worldwide. Prosecutors say Palafox marketed PGI as a high-yield trading operation, promising returns as high as 3% per day. Between late 2019 and 2021 the operation drew more than 90,000 investors and collected over $201 million in cash and crypto — including more than 8,000 bitcoin, according to court records. Authorities also report that the scheme drained in excess of $62.7 million in investor funds. Rather than investing client money, Palafox allegedly paid early investors with money from later participants and fabricated account statements on a custom online portal so customers could “see” fake gains. Meanwhile, he spent millions on a lavish lifestyle: luxury cars (including Lamborghinis), high-end homes in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, penthouse hotel suites, and about $3 million each on designer clothing, watches, and jewelry, prosecutors say. The case was investigated by the FBI and IRS. Victims may be eligible for restitution, and the SEC is pursuing civil penalties against Palafox; he has also been barred from handling securities. The sentence and ongoing enforcement actions underscore regulators’ growing focus on large-scale crypto-related frauds and the risks investors face from promises of unusually high, guaranteed returns. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news

#BTC #SEC