News View Non-AMP

Crypto News: SEC Exposes Fake Crypto Trading Platform That Cost Investors $198 Million

Published by
Nidhi Kolhapur

The SEC has yet again cracked down on crypto fraud. The agency has charged the man behind PGI Global, Ramil Palafox, for running a massive $198 million scam through his company, PGI Global, which falsely claimed to be a crypto and forex trading platform. 

As per the SEC’s press release, from January 2020 through October 2021, Palafox promised investors massive returns through ‘membership packages’ and also offered them multi-level marketing-like referral incentives in order to encourage them to recruit new investors. 

Over $57 Million Investor Funds Misused

Palafox misappropriated over $57 million in investor funds to fund his lavish lifestyle like buying Lamborghinis, items from luxury retailers and for other personal expenses. Further, he also used up the left investor money to pay other investors their returns and referral bonuses, like a classic Ponzi scheme, until it collapsed in 2021.

As alleged in our complaint, Palafox attracted investors with the allure of guaranteed profits from sophisticated crypto asset and foreign exchange trading, but instead of trading, 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.

Laura D’Allaird, Chief of the Commission’s new Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit added that Palafox fooled investors by pretending to be a crypto expert with advanced AI trading technology.

SEC Seeks Penalties and Recovery of Funds

The SEC has charged Palafox with violating anti-fraud and securities laws, seeking permanent bans, the return of ill-gotten gains, and civil penalties. Palafox also faces criminal charges filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

These actions show the SEC’s ongoing efforts to hold individuals and companies accountable for fraudulent activities in the crypto sector. Regulators are increasingly targeting deceptive practices, from Ponzi schemes to illegal staking services, indicating that the crypto space will be held to the same legal standards as traditional financial markets.

Nidhi Kolhapur

Nidhi is a Certified Digital Marketing Executive and Passionate crypto Journalist covering the world of alternative currencies. She shares the latest and trending news on Cryptocurrency and Blockchain.

Recent Posts

Bitwise Amends S-1 Filings for Spot Dogecoin ETF and Aptos ETFs: Approvals on Track?

Bitwise Asset Management filed amended S-1 registration statements with the United States Securities and Exchange…

June 27, 2025

Top Reasons Why Bitcoin Price May Retest $92k First Before Reaching $120k in the Midterm

Bitcoin (BTC) price has experienced heightened resistance around $108k in the past few days amid…

June 27, 2025

XRP Price Prediction, Next 100x meme coin : How Can XRP Push Past $5 Before the End of 2025?

XRP’s Setup Signals Breakout Potential XRP is showing strong recovery signs as analysts project a…

June 26, 2025

Kaanch Network Just Became the Most Talked-About Layer 1 Token on Crypto X

Kaanch is fast becoming one of the outstanding tokens in Crypto X which is attracting…

June 26, 2025

Ruvi AI (RUVI) Takes Notes from Avalanche’s (AVAX) Rise, Utility Focus and Passed Audit Put It on the Right Path

Avalanche took the crypto world by storm with its ability to deliver scalable and efficient…

June 26, 2025

Ledger and Chorus One to Boost ETH Staking with MEV Max Integration

Ethereum staking has grown from a niche activity into a foundational element of the blockchain…

June 26, 2025