A federal judge just handed down a serious sentence in one of crypto’s bigger fraud cases. Ramil Palafox, CEO of Praetorian Group International, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for running a $200 million crypto scheme that collapsed on thousands of investors.
More than 90,000 people around the world were pulled in with promises of returns that simply did not exist. The operation unraveled, and the losses stacked up fast.
Chief U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema delivered the sentence after Palafox pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering in late 2025. It marks another high-profile reminder that regulators are not easing up on large-scale crypto fraud.
Palafox claimed PGI had a sophisticated trading algorithm that could generate up to 3% daily returns. Sounds impressive. Except there was no real trading happening at all.
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Ramil Ventura Palafox, CEO of Praetorian Group International, was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Thursday for operating a $200 million bitcoin Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 90,000 investors worldwide.
This guy is going extremely viral. https://t.co/DnMVHrVuWm pic.twitter.com/vogrQt1W9Y
— Bowlsey (@BowlseySOL) February 13, 2026
Behind the scenes, it was the usual playbook. A polished website. Fake dashboards. Numbers moving on a screen to make everything look legitimate. Even cautious investors were fooled because it felt professional.
This is why these schemes work. Fraudsters lean on technical jargon and complex explanations to overwhelm beginners. If an offer promises steady, high returns with little risk, that is your first red flag. Taking a moment to verify, research, and double-check before sending funds can be the difference between protecting your capital and losing it.
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How The Scheme Unraveled
According to the Department of Justice, the whole thing collapsed once Palafox ran out of new investors to pay the old ones. The flow of money was eventually traced straight to his personal spending, similar to what we saw in other high-profile crypto fraud cases.
Instead of generating returns through Bitcoin trading, he was funneling funds into luxury real estate in California and Las Vegas. Court filings show roughly $3 million went toward high-end cars like Lamborghinis and Ferraris, with millions more spent on luxury items.
A famous crypto CEO just got 8 years in prison for the biggest crypto fraud since FTX.
He stole $200 MILLION from investors while claiming their money was safe.
Then bought McLarens and mansions while the token crashed to zero.
Meet Braden John Karony, the former CEO of… pic.twitter.com/fvyL5Ph6KR
— Insider Trackers (@InsiderTrackers) February 13, 2026
The message from the sentencing is clear. Authorities are following the money and building stronger cases. While some crypto headlines involve physical violence, white collar fraud is drawing serious prison time as well.
Investigators also revealed that Palafox moved 100 BTC to family members in an effort to shield assets, but that trail did not stay hidden for long.
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