SEC Charges Ramil Palafox in $200 Million Bitcoin Scam, Defrauding 90,000 Investors

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken decisive action by charging Ramil Palafox, a dual U.S.-Filipino citizen, with executing a *cryptocurrency scam* that has reportedly defrauded 90,000 investors, resulting in losses exceeding *$200 million*. The SEC alleges that from January 2020 to October 2021, Palafox misappropriated over *$57 million* of investor capital through his company, PGI Global. Through the use of a multi-level marketing (MLM) structure, he employed a *Ponzi-like fraud*, which ultimately collapsed in 2021.

Palafox’s fraudulent scheme attracted investors with exaggerated claims of expertise in cryptocurrency and a purported *AI auto-trading platform*. SEC Deputy Regional Director Scott Thompson remarked that despite the promises of substantial returns from complex *cryptocurrency* and *forex trades*, Palafox never executed any trades. Instead, he utilized the funds for personal luxuries, including high-end vehicles and real estate. The SEC’s charges encompass violations of anti-fraud and registration rules, seeking to prevent his future involvement in the sale of securities and cryptocurrencies and to reclaim ill-gotten gains along with imposing civil penalties.