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The US DOJ (Department of Justice) has secured a 20-year prison sentence against the founder of a sprawling crypto investment scheme. According to prosecutors, this scheme had defrauded more than 90,000 investors worldwide of over $200 million. Sponsored Sponsored DOJ Exposes and Dismantles $200 Million Bitcoin Ponzi as Founder Receives 20-Year Prison Term In a statement released on Thursday, the DOJ confirmed that Ramil Ventura Palafox, 61, was sentenced after pleading guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges. Palafox was the founder, chairman, and CEO of Praetorian Group International (PGI), a multi-level marketing company that claimed to generate outsized returns through Bitcoin trading and crypto-related strategies. According to court documents, PGI operated from December 2019 to October 2021, raising more than $201 million from investors worldwide. The company promised daily returns of 0.5% to 3%, marketed as profits from sophisticated Bitcoin arbitrage and trading activities. In reality, investigators found PGI was not conducting trading at the scale required to generate such returns. Instead, it functioned as a classic Ponzi scheme, using funds from new investors to pay earlier participants. Authorities said at least $30.2 million was invested in fiat currency, alongside 8,198 Bitcoin valued at approximately $171.5 million at the time of investment. Confirmed losses reached at least $62.7 million, though prosecutors indicated the total financial harm could be significantly higher. Lavish Lifestyle and Fabricated Profits: How Palafox Hid the Collapse Behind a Luxury Facade To maintain the illusion of profitability, Palafox allegedly created and controlled an online investor portal that displayed fabricated account balances. Sponsored Sponsored Between 2020 and 2021, the platform consistently misrepresented investment performance. It falsely showed steady gains and reinforced investor confidence even as the scheme unraveled behind the scenes. Court filings detail how Palafox diverted substantial amounts of investor funds to finance a lavish…

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Filed under: News - @ February 13, 2026 11:28 am