US Judge Sentences Crypto Scam CEO to 20 Years

[mendez]

A US federal judge in Virginia sentenced Ramil Ventura Palafox, CEO of Praetorian Group International, to 20 years in prison for running a $200 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme. Palafox, a dual US-Philippine citizen, was convicted of wire fraud and money laundering after falsely promising daily returns of up to 3% from Bitcoin trading. Tens of thousands of investors contributed over $201 million, including at least 8,198 BTC, resulting in losses of at least $62.7 million.

Prosecutors said Palafox used new investor funds to pay earlier participants while spending millions on luxury cars, homes, penthouse suites, and high-end retail. The case also featured a multilevel marketing structure, encouraging referrals to recruit more investors. The sentencing concludes the DOJ’s criminal case and follows a parallel civil action by the Securities and Exchange Commission, marking one of the largest crypto fraud cases in recent years by investor count and funds involved.

[cryptoenthusiast]

kinda satisfying seeing the sec + doj actually coordinate on a massive cross-border fraud