The American Commission for Securities and Exchange (SEC) charged the founder of the Crypto and Exchange Investment Company, PGI Global, violation of federal securities on securities, alleging that it was leading a “Ponzi type regime” which has frauded investors of nearly $ 200 million – and spent $ 57 million customer money for Lamborghinis, real estate and luxury.
Ramil Palafox, 59, from Las Vegas, Nevada, also faces parallel criminal charges related to his role in PGI Global. In March, a great jury in Virginia charged him in a sprawling indictment of 23 which included eight chiefs of fraud by wire. Due to what prosecutors have described as “substantial ties” of Palafox in the Philippines, including the double citizenship, the judge supervising his criminal case made an order on Tuesday that he should remain in detention until further notice.
According to court documents, PGI Global was a cryptographic investment program which took place from January 2020 to October 2021. About 90,000 investors around the world bought membership packages with Bitcoin or a fiduciary currency which has promised heavy yields on their investments – up to 3% per day and a total return of 200%. But instead of investing money from its customers, prosecutors say that Palafox spent more than a quarter of the funds unjustly enriching itself and family members, and used the rest to reimburse previous investors in the program until it collapses.
“Palafox used the innovation cover to attract investors to line their pockets with millions of dollars while leaving many victims with empty hands,” said Laura d’Assoclaird, head of the new Cyber unit and emerging dry, in a press release. “In reality, its false allegations of expertise in the cryptographic industry and a supposed automatic negotiation platform fueled by AI only masked international fraud on securities.”
Since the start of the second term of the second term of American president Donald Trump in January, the SEC has revised his approach to cryptographic regulations, abandoning surveys and certain disputes against cryptographic societies linked to alleged violations of titles. But despite her subject on the so-called “regulations compared”, practiced during the mandate of former president Gary Gensler, the SEC promised that she would continue to continue after fraud in terms of titles linked to the crypto.
Likewise, the DoJ has reduced its approach to the pursuits related to the crypto, dissolving its working group on cryptography and asking staff not to welcome regulatory violations in cases involving the crypto. In a staff memo last month, deputy prosecutor Todd Blanche told prosecutors to focus their efforts on “people who victimize digital asset investors”.
In the case of Palafox, the SEC aims to recover the money from investors, as well as to interest and civil sanctions, as well as to obtain an injunction which would prevent it from crimes similar in the future. The dry also seeks to recover money from several members of the Palafox family, including his wife, Marissa Mendoza Palafox, and his brother-in-law, Darvie Mendoza.
In a submission to the court, the Doj said that Palafox – if it is found guilty – is faced with “at least 108-135 months’ imprisonment”, or from 9 to 11 years.
Palafox’s lawyer refused to comment.
