Altcoins News
By Jean-Luc Maracon
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Ramil Ventura Palafox got slammed with 20 years behind bars. The 61-year-old dual US-Philippines citizen ran Praetorian Group International like his personal piggy bank, stealing…
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Palafox basically told everyone PGI was some kind of Bitcoin trading wizard that could deliver daily returns between 0.5% and 3%. Pretty wild promises, right?
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Turns out PGI wasn't trading Bitcoin at all - just moving money from new victims to pay off older ones. Classic Ponzi scheme stuff.
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Meanwhile, Palafox was living it up. Guy dropped $3 million on fancy cars - Porsches, Lamborghinis, the whole deal.
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He also moved $800,000 and 100 Bitcoin to a family member. Smart move, except investigators caught that too.
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The damage was huge. Investors lost more than $62 million when everything collapsed. The Justice Department said victims might get some money back through restitution, but that…
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The UK stepped in back in 2022 and shut down PGI Global's British operation. Then in April 2025, the SEC charged Palafox with running the Ponzi scheme.
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Court records show Palafox's network stretched across multiple continents. He had victims in North America, Europe, and Asia - basically anywhere people had Bitcoin and wanted…
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Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite Jr. said schemes like this exploit people's trust and cause serious damage beyond just the money.
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Sarah Thompson, one of the victims, went public with her story about losing everything she'd saved up.
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Civil lawsuits are starting to pop up against Palafox and PGI. Law firms representing groups of investors filed cases in multiple states, trying to get compensation for their…
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SEC Chair Gary Gensler keeps saying the agency won't tolerate fraud in the crypto space. The SEC's involvement here sends a message to anyone thinking about pulling similar stunts.
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Asset recovery is the big focus now. Authorities are tracking down money and property linked to Palafox's scheme.
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The restitution process remains murky. The Justice Department didn't give specifics about timing or amounts. Victims are stuck waiting to see what happens next.
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Palafox's sentencing wraps up one part of this mess, but the fallout continues. The FBI investigation revealed just how deep the deception went - fake records, manipulated…
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