United States judge sentences Ramil Palafox to 20 years in bitcoin Ponzi scheme

Palafox, a dual citizen of the United States and the Philippines, ran Praetorian Group International as its chairman, chief executive and primary promoter. He pleaded guilty in September 2025 to wire fraud and money laundering charges.

From December 2019 to October 2021, Palafox told clients that PGI generated profits through high-volume bitcoin trading and offered daily returns ranging from 0.5% to 3%. The U.S. Department of Justice said the company did not conduct trading at a scale capable of producing those returns and instead used funds from new participants, and in some cases from the victims themselves, to pay earlier investors.

Prosecutors said investors deposited more than $201 million into PGI during the scheme, including at least $30.3 million in cash and 8,198 bitcoin then valued at about $171.5 million. Victims ultimately suffered losses of at least $62.7 million.

The DOJ said PGI maintained a website and online portal that displayed steady gains, leading investors to believe their balances were growing. Prosecutors also detailed personal spending funded by victim money, including about $3 million on 20 high-end vehicles, $329,000 on luxury hotel penthouses, more than $6 million on four homes in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, and roughly $3 million on designer goods such as clothing, watches and jewelry. Authorities also said Palafox transferred at least $800,000 in cash and 100 bitcoin, worth about $3.3 million at the time, to a family member.

Under the plea agreement, Palafox agreed to pay $62.7 million in restitution. The DOJ said victims may be eligible for restitution payments through the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

As GNcrypto wrote on 14 November 2025, Wolf Capital Crypto Trading chief executive Travis Ford was sentenced to five years in prison for a $9.4 million crypto Ponzi scheme after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The court ordered Ford to forfeit more than $1 million and pay more than $170,000 in restitution, as U.S. authorities continued pursuing investment fraud cases tied to promised daily returns.