Overview

• Ramil Ventura Palafox admitted to wire fraud and money laundering for running PGI as an MLM-style scheme that paid old investors with new funds.
• From December 2019 to October 2021, more than 90,000 investors put over $201 million into PGI, including at least $30.3 million in cash and 8,198 bitcoin valued at about $171.5 million at the time.
• Prosecutors said PGI’s portal falsely showed rising balances and daily returns of 0.5% to 3%, concealing that meaningful bitcoin trading was not occurring.
• Investigators detailed spending of investor money on 20 luxury cars, four homes in Las Vegas and Los Angeles worth over $6 million, penthouse stays, designer goods, and transfers to a family member.
• The plea was announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office with the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation after U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema accepted it, and Palafox faces up to 40 years in prison.