RAMIL VENTURA PALAFOX

Ramil Ventura Palafox operated a cryptocurrency investment fraud scheme, Praetorian Group International (PGI), that raised more than $200 million from at least 90,000 victims worldwide. Palafox and others fraudulently marketed PGI to potential investors as a multilevel marketing (“MLM”) business that promised to pay victim-investors guaranteed daily profits in exchange for their purchase of purported cryptocurrency-related investment products. To facilitate investments, Palafox fraudulently misrepresented and caused others to misrepresent material facts regarding PGI’s business activity, investment platform, expected investment returns, and the use of investors’ funds. Despite his promises and representations to victims, PGI was neither purchasing nor trading bitcoin on many victims’ investments. Instead, Palafox and others used victims’ funds to pay other victims, to further promote the scheme, and to fund personal expenditures, including real estate and luxury sports cars. Although some victims received payouts from PGI, many victims lost all or some of their investments. In March 2025, Palafox was charged with eight counts of wire fraud, five counts of inducing interstate travel with the intent to defraud, one count of concealment money laundering, and nine counts of unlawful monetary transactions. On April 9, 2025, Palafox was arrested by the FBI in California. On September 16, 2025, Palafox pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of concealment money laundering. On February 12, 2026, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison. On April 6, 2026, Palafox removed his GPS monitor, failed to report to prison, and has since fled. On April 6, 2026, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Palafox in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria, Virginia.