The United States Stock Exchange and Securities Commission (SEC) accused the founder of the now missing Investment Company of Currency and Global PGI currencies, for violating federal values of values, claiming that he directed a “Ponzi scheme” that defrauded investors of almost $ 200 million, and spent $ 57 million money from customers in Lamborghinis, real estate and luxury goods.
Ramil Palafox, 59, from Las Vegas, Nevada, also faces parallel criminal charges linked to its role in Global PGI. In March, a grand jury of Virginia accused him of 23 positions that included eight charges of wire fraud. Due to what prosecutors described as the “substantial ties” of Palafox with the Philippines, including double citizenship, the judge who supervises his criminal case issued an order on Tuesday that he should remain in custody until again notice.
According to judicial documents, PGI Global was a cryptographic investment scheme that was executed from January 2020 to October 2021. Approximately 90,000 investors from around the world bought membership packages with bitcoin or fiduciary currency that promised strong yields of its investments, up to 3% of 3% daily and a total yield of 200%. But instead of investing their customers’ money, prosecutors say that Palafox spent more than a quarter of funds unfairly enriching their family members, and used the rest to pay previous investors in the scheme until it collapsed.
“Palafox used the appearance of innovation to attract investors to cover their pockets with millions of dollars while leaving many victims empty,” said Laura D’Arlaird, head of the new unit of cyber and emerging technologies of the SEC, in a press release. “Actually, his false statements of experience in the cryptographic industry and an alleged automatic negotiation platform with AI were only masking a fraud of international values.”
Since the beginning of the second mandate of US President Donald Trump in January, the SEC has reviewed its focus on cryptographic regulation, eliminating investigations and some litigation against cryptographic companies linked to the alleged violations of values. But despite its face in the so -called “application regulation” practiced during the mandate of former President Gary Gensler, the SEC has promised that it will continue to chase the fraud of values related to cryptography.
Similarly, the Department of Justice has reduced its focus for prosecution related to cryptography, dissolving their Crypto working group and instructing personnel not to charge regulatory violations criminally in cases involving cryptography. In a memorandum for the staff last month, Deputy Attorney General Blanche told prosecutors to concentrate their efforts to persecute “people who victimize digital asset investors.”
In the case of Palafox, the SEC aims to recover the money from investors, in addition to civil interests and sanctions, as well as obtain a precautionary relief that would prevent similar crimes in the future. The SEC is also looking to recover the money from several of the members of the Palafox family, including his wife, Marissa Mendoza Palafox, and his brother -in -law, Darvie Mendoza.
In a presentation to the Court, the Department of Justice has said that Palafox, if it declares it guilty, faces “at least 108-135 months in prison”, or from 9 to 11 years.
Palafox’s lawyer declined to comment.
