SEC Charges PGI Global Founder in $198M Crypto Fraud Case

Crime

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Ramil Palafox, founder of PGI Global, with orchestrating a massive $198 million fraud.

The scam allegedly siphoned more than $57 million into personal luxury purchases, including Lamborghinis, watches, and homes.

According to the SEC’s complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, PGI Global promoted itself as a crypto and forex trading platform, offering high returns and multi-level marketing incentives to lure global investors. From January 2020 to October 2021, Palafox allegedly used new investor funds to pay earlier ones — a hallmark of a Ponzi-like scheme — until the platform collapsed.

“Palafox bought himself and his family cars, watches and homes using millions of dollars of investor funds,” said Scott Thompson, Associate Director of the SEC’s Philadelphia Regional Office. “We will continue to investigate and take action against bad actors who take advantage of investors.”

AI Claims Used as Bait

SEC officials also said Palafox masked the fraud behind claims of a cutting-edge AI-powered auto-trading platform and crypto expertise, exploiting the crypto boom to build trust and credibility.

“His false claims were just masking an international securities fraud,” said Laura D’Allaird, another SEC official involved in the case.

The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, and civil penalties against Palafox.

Author

Kosta Gushterov

Reporter at Coindoo

Kosta has been a part of the team since 2021 and has solidified his position with a thirst for knowledge, incredible dedication to his work and a “detective-like” mindset. He not only covers a wide range of trending topics, he also creates reviews, PR articles and educational content. His work has also been referenced by other news outlets.