Overview

• Prosecutors say the scheme drew more than $201 million from at least 90,000 investors from December 2019 to October 2021.
• Investors suffered documented losses of at least $62,692,007, according to the plea agreement.
• PGI promised daily returns of 0.5% to 3% from bitcoin trading that was not occurring at a viable scale, using new funds to pay earlier participants.
• Court filings describe a fabricated portal that showed fictitious gains while Palafox diverted money to 20 luxury cars, four homes worth over $6 million, penthouse stays, and designer goods, and transferred cash and 100 BTC to a family member.
• The case is being prosecuted in the Eastern District of Virginia with the FBI and IRS involved, and prosecutors have posted victim restitution information.