- Ramil Ventura Palafox, CEO of Praetorian Group International, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering after running a major Bitcoin Ponzi scheme.
- Palafox and his company collected at least $201 million from over 90,000 investors, promising daily returns between 0.5% and 3%.
- Authorities recorded losses of at least $62.7 million, with funds spent on luxury cars, homes, and designer goods.
- The scheme used fake online account balances to convince investors they were earning real profits.
- Palafox faces up to 40 years in prison and has agreed to pay $62.7 million in restitution, with sentencing set for February 3, 2026.
Ramil Ventura Palafox, head of Praetorian Group International, pleaded guilty this week in Virginia to charges of wire fraud and money laundering connected to a Bitcoin-based Ponzi scheme. U.S. prosecutors said Palafox, who is both a U.S. and Philippine citizen, operated the scheme between December 2019 and October 2021, targeting investors with what he described as a cryptocurrency trading program.
Court documents state that Palafox’s company collected at least $201 million from more than 90,000 investors. These investors were promised daily returns as high as 3%, although the trading program never actually operated as described. Instead, money from new participants was used to pay old investors or spent on personal purchases, including luxury cars and properties.
Prosecutors reported that total investor losses reached at least $62.7 million. Palafox used about $3 million to buy 20 luxury vehicles and more than $6 million on four homes in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. He also spent hundreds of thousands on penthouse suites and high-end brands like Rolex and Gucci. The Justice Department confirmed these findings in its statement.
Investors saw fake account balances and nonexistent gains on an online platform designed to make the operation appear legitimate. Dan Dadybayo, a research and strategy lead at Unstoppable Wallet, described Praetorian as a “textbook Ponzi scheme” that used multi-level marketing (MLM) to encourage recruitment. He compared Praetorian’s model to previous frauds such as BitConnect, PlusToken, and OneCoin.
Dadybayo also commented that smaller cases like Praetorian’s may not have the same impact as major scandals but could increase skepticism about certain crypto terms. He said regulators need to focus more on educating investors and improving international coordination, not just expanding identity-checking rules.
Palafox is scheduled for sentencing on February 3, 2026, and could face up to 40 years in prison. He has agreed to return $62.7 million to victims, but sentences usually fall below the legal maximum.
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