SEC Drops the Hammer on $198 Million Crypto Ponzi Scheme

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Ramil Palafox, the founder of the crypto company PGI Global, with orchestrating a massive $198 million Ponzi scheme that misled investors worldwide.

Palafox is accused of defrauding investors by promoting PGI Global as a legitimate crypto asset and foreign exchange trading business from January 2020 through October 2021.

$198M Ponzi Scheme Exposed

The SEC’s complaint detailed that Palafox sold “membership” packages that promised high returns from PGI Global’s supposed trading operations, while also offering multi-level marketing-style referral incentives to encourage new investors.

In reality, Palafox misappropriated over $57 million of the investor funds for personal expenses, including luxury items such as Lamborghinis. The majority of the remaining funds were used to pay returns to earlier investors in a classic Ponzi scheme until it collapsed in late 2021.

Scott Thompson, Associate Director of the SEC’s Philadelphia Regional Office, stated,

“As alleged in our complaint, Palafox attracted investors with the allure of guaranteed profits from sophisticated crypto asset and foreign exchange trading, but instead of trading, Palafox bought himself and his family cars, watches, and homes using millions of dollars of investor funds.”

Laura D’Allaird, Chief of the SEC’s Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit, described Palafox’s actions as using the allure of crypto industry innovation to deceive investors and masking a large-scale securities fraud.

The SEC’s complaint, which was filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, has charged Palafox with violations of federal anti-fraud and registration provisions. It seeks to prevent him from participating in multi-level marketing programs, demands the return of ill-gotten gains, and calls for civil penalties.

Additionally, the complaint names several relief defendants, including BBMR Threshold LLC and individuals tied to Palafox, seeking disgorgement of their ill-gotten funds. Palafox is also facing criminal charges, with a parallel case brought by the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Crackdown in the UK

In 2022, the UK High Court shut down PGI Global’s UK division for allegedly running a fraudulent scheme that promised investors returns of up to 200%. The firm claimed to offer profitable digital asset investments but failed to deliver on its promises.

Authorities determined that PGI Global had stolen over $700,000 from users, with executives diverting $225,000 to personal accounts and spending $11,500 on luxury items. Meanwhile, Palafox reportedly refused to cooperate with the investigation.