SEC, DOJ Charge PGI Global CEO in Crypto Fraud

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Ramil Palafox, CEO of PGI Global, with running a $198–200 million Ponzi-like crypto and forex investment scheme that defrauded about 90,000 investors worldwide from January 2020 to October 2021. Palafox allegedly misappropriated over $57 million for personal luxury purchases and paid earlier investors with new funds, while falsely marketing an AI-driven trading platform that never existed. PGI Global operated without proper registration and used a multilevel marketing approach to recruit investors. UK authorities shut down the company in 2022 after withdrawal issues and substantial investor losses. The SEC is seeking to ban Palafox from future securities sales, recover ill-gotten gains, and impose civil penalties. Federal prosecutors have also indicted Palafox on wire fraud and money laundering charges, and he remains in custody due to flight risk concerns stemming from his dual U.S.-Philippine citizenship.