Praetorian Group International (PGI) — Ramil Palafox
Summary
Praetorian Group International (PGI), also marketed as PGI Global, was a multi-level marketing cryptocurrency investment scheme operated by Ramil Ventura Palafox between December 2019 and October 2021. The scheme defrauded over 90,000 investors worldwide of more than $201 million by falsely promising daily returns of 0.5–3% from Bitcoin and foreign exchange trading that was not occurring at the claimed scale. On February 12, 2026, Palafox was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia following his September 2025 guilty plea to wire fraud and concealment money laundering.
Connected Entities
1 entities · 10 linked investigations- + 1 more
Timeline(12 events)
2019-12
Praetorian Group International (PGI) begins soliciting investors, promising daily returns of 0.5–3% from purported Bitcoin and forex trading.
DOJ Eastern District of Virginia2020-07
PGI Global UK begins accepting investments from UK investors. UK entity receives approximately £600,000 between July 2020 and February 2021.
Protos2021-10
PGI's active investment solicitation period ends. The scheme has collected over $201 million from more than 90,000 investors across multiple countries.
IRS Criminal Investigation2021
Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission issues a securities fraud warning against PGI Global, stating the company operates without a license and shows indicators of a Ponzi scheme.
BehindMLM2021
PGI Global's website is taken offline; the scheme collapses and investors are unable to withdraw funds. BehindMLM documents the exit scam.
BehindMLM2022-09-13
UK High Court issues winding-up order against PGI Global UK Ltd after the company fails to cooperate with an unregistered securities investigation. Official Receiver appointed as liquidator.
Protos2025-03
Federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia returns a sealed 23-count indictment against Palafox including eight counts of wire fraud.
Securities Docket / DOJ2025-04
Ramil Ventura Palafox is arrested in California. Court orders him held pending trial, citing dual U.S.-Philippine citizenship and substantial ties to the Philippines as flight risk factors.
BehindMLM2025-04-23
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission files civil charges against Palafox alleging a $198 million crypto asset and foreign exchange fraud scheme. SEC also names family members Marissa Mendoza Palafox and Darvie Mendoza.
SEC Press Release2025-09-17
Palafox pleads guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of concealment money laundering before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
DOJ Eastern District of Virginia2026-02-12
U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema sentences Palafox to 20 years in federal prison. Palafox ordered to pay $62,692,007 in restitution.
DOJ Eastern District of Virginia / IRS Criminal InvestigationDecision Log
- hash: MUNqH9aRf6ne7m47Enydkh7AUvzgTuwKe4Kp4dJXjQG
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain and source URLs are archived via the Internet Archive.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 6/21/2026, 11:14:29 PM
last updated: 6/21/2026, 11:14:38 PM
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