On April 22, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Ramil Palafox, founder of PGI Global, with orchestrating an international fraud that duped investors out of nearly $198 million.
SEC Foils $198M Crypto Fraud
According to the official press release, Palafox allegedly deceived thousands of investors by convincing them to purchase “membership” packages. To trick victims, they gave promises of high returns from cryptocurrency and foreign exchange trading.
But according to the SEC, there was no real trading behind the scenes. Instead of investing the money, Palafox is accused of spending over $57 million on luxury cars, designer goods, and lavish personal expenses.
The remaining money was used to pay early investors, mimicking a Ponzi scheme that eventually collapsed.
Scott Thompson, Associate Director of the SEC’s Philadelphia Regional Office said, “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.”
He added further, “We will continue to investigate and take action against bad actors who take advantage of investors with promises of guaranteed passive income and other lies and deceit.”
Laura D’Allaird, Chief of the Commission’s new Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit, said, “Palafox used the guise of innovation to lure investors into lining his pockets with millions of dollars while leaving many victims empty-handed. In reality, his false claims of crypto industry expertise and a supposed AI-powered auto-trading platform were just masking an international securities fraud.”
The SEC’s complaint, filed in federal court in Virginia, demands a permanent ban on Palafox from promoting investment schemes, recover misused funds, and impose civil penalties. Some associates and family members are also named in the complaint.
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