CEO sentenced to 20 years for $200 million Ponzi scheme involving Bitcoin
- Ramil Ventura Palafox, CEO of Praetorian Group International, was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
- He misled over 90,000 investors, promising daily returns of up to 3%.
- Palafox collected more than $201 million from investors between late 2019 and 2021, including over 8,000 bitcoin.
- The scheme drained over $62.7 million while Palafox used funds to pay old investors and finance personal luxuries.
- Prosecutors revealed he spent approximately $3 million on luxury cars and another $3 million on designer goods.
- The case was investigated by the FBI and IRS, with potential restitution for victims.
Palafox’s fraudulent activities created a facade of profitability through a fake online portal, misleading thousands while he enjoyed lavish spending habits. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is pursuing civil penalties against him.
This case underscores the risks associated with investment schemes that promise high returns with little transparency, as evidenced by the more than $201 million collected from investors.(Source)
