Praetorian Group International CEO Sentenced for Bitcoin Ponzi
Analysis based on 10 articles · First reported Feb 13, 2026 · Last updated Feb 13, 2026
The sentencing of Ramil Ventura Palafox for a $200 million Bitcoin Ponzi scheme reinforces regulatory efforts to combat crypto fraud, potentially increasing investor caution in the digital asset market. This event highlights the ongoing risks associated with unregulated crypto investments and the importance of due diligence.
Ramil Ventura Palafox, the 61-year-old CEO of Praetorian Group International (PGI), has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for orchestrating a global $200 million Bitcoin Ponzi scheme. Between December 2019 and October 2021, Palafox defrauded over 90,000 investors worldwide by falsely promoting PGI as a high-volume Bitcoin trading and arbitrage firm, promising daily returns of 0.5% to 3%. In reality, PGI operated as a classic Ponzi structure, using funds from new investors to pay earlier participants. Investors deposited over $201 million, including at least $30.3 million in cash and 8,198 Bitcoin. Confirmed victim losses exceed $62.7 million, which Palafox was ordered to repay in restitution. Prosecutors from the United States===United States Department of Justice detailed how Palafox diverted millions of dollars to finance a luxury lifestyle, including luxury vehicles, homes in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, penthouse suites, and designer goods. Palafox pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges. The case, investigated by the United States===Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States===Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, adds to a growing list of crypto-related fraud prosecutions in the United States, with the United States===United States Securities and Exchange Commission also pursuing civil penalties.
Set up alerts, explore entity relationships, search across thousands of events, and build custom intelligence feeds.
Open Dashboard