PGI Global Ponzi scammer Ramil Ventura Palafox, aka RV Palafox, has been arrested in California.

Palafox’s arrest follows a March 13th, 2025 sealed Grand Jury indictment in Virginia.

BehindMLM reviewed PGI Global in July 2020. We found an MLM crypto Ponzi hidden behind crypto trading, crypto ATM and “blockchain education” ruses.

This is confirmed in Palafox’s indictment;

Between approximately December 2019 and October 2021, in the Eastern District of Virginia and elsewhere, the defendant, RAMIL VENTURA PALAFOX having devised and intending to devise a scheme and artifice to defraud, and for obtaining money and property by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises, transmitted and caused to be transmitted by means of wire communication in interstate and foreign commerce writings, signs, signals, pictures, and sounds for the purpose of executing such scheme and artifice, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343.

It was the object of the scheme for PALAFOX to obtain funds from investors by knowingly making materially false representations and promises and by concealing material facts regarding PGI’s profitability, licensures, business activity, expected investment returns, ability to make investment payments, and use of investors’ funds.

Palafox stands accused of defrauding 90,000 PGI Global investors out of “at least $200 million”.

As to PGI Global’s ruses;

PALAFOX misled investors as to PGI’s bitcoin trading activity and how their investment funds were being used.

For example, PALAFOX represented to investors that PGI’s traders were generating substantial returns by trading on Cryptocurrency Exchange 1 and Cryptocurrency Exchange 2 and that his traders were able to make money regardless of whether
the price of bitcoin was going up or down.

In truth, PGI was neither purchasing nor trading bitcoin with many investors’ investments, and many investors lost all or some of their investments.

In typical MLM Ponzi fashion, primary beneficiaries of invested funds were Palafox and friends;

PALAFOX used investors’ funds to pay other investors, to further promote the scheme, and for personal expenditures, including for the purchase of millions of dollars’ worth of luxury goods, real estate, and at least 20 high-end vehicles.

PGI Global went on to collapse in or around February 2021. Palafox’s exit-scam lies are documented in his indictment;

By February 2021, if not earlier, investors were frequently unable to withdraw their investments or their purported profits.

PALAFOX stated and caused other promoters to state that PGI was having technical difficulties with its payment processors, but that PGI would eventually pay investors what they were owed.

Between February 2021 and June 2021, PALAFOX told investors that PGI had formed relationships with two new payment processing companies, Company 2 and Company 3, and that those companies would facilitate payments.

These were merely lulling statements. In truth, PALAFOX did not provide either Company 2 or 3 with funds sufficient to support the investors’ withdrawal requests.

Palafox’s Virginia indictment charges him with

  • eight counts of wire fraud
  • five counts of inducing interstate travel with intent to defraud
  • one count of concealment money laundering and
  • nine counts of monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity

The DOJ is seeking forfeiture of Palafox’s illgotten gains, including the following documented assets;

  • a 2001 BMW M3;
  • a 2013 Tesla Model S;
  • a 2014 Audi A4;
  • a 2014 BMW 750LX;
  • a 2014 Ferrari 458 Special;
  • a 2014 Subaru Impreza;
  • a 2015 Mercedes-Benz S550;
  • a 2016 Bentley Continental;
  • a 2016 Lamborghini Aventador;
  • a 2016 Rolls-Royce Ghost;
  • a 2019 Porsche 911 Targa;
  • a 2020 McLaren 720 S;
  • a 2020 Mercedes-Benz G;
  • a 2016 Tesla Model X;
  • a 2020 Lamborghini Huracan;
  • a 2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo;
  • a 2021 Land Rover;
  • $56,141 held in a PNC Bank account;
  • $41,168 held in a Cathay Bank account;
  • $45,092 held in a MUFG Union Bank account;
  • $720,458 held in a Lexicon Bank account; and
  • $36,293 held in a Lexicon Bank account

Cash and and luxury goods seized from Palafox’s Porter Ranch, California house in 2021, are also subject to seizure;

  • $196,711 in cash;
  • four Valentino bags;
  • a Valentino wallet;
  • a pair of Valentino sunglasses;
  • two Versace bags;
  • two Versace purses;
  • a Versace wallet;
  • a pair of Versace sunglasses;
  • a Versace belt;
  • a Louis Vuitton purse;
  • eighteen Louis Vuitton bags;
  • seven Louis Vuitton wallets;
  • four Louis Vuitton backpacks;
  • two Louis Vuitton pouches;
  • a Louis Vuitton sunglasses case
  • a Louis Vuitton card holder;
  • a Louis Vuitton packing cube;
  • a pair of Louis Vuitton men’s high-tops;
  • two pairs of Louis Vuitton loafers;
  • four Louis Vuitton roller suitcases;
  • a Louis Vuitton watch case;
  • two pairs of Louis Vuitton sunglasses;
  • a pair of Louis Vuitton eyeglasses;
  • a Louis Vuitton folding mirror;
  • a Louis Vuitton table clock;
  • a Cartier passport wallet;
  • a Cartier bag;
  • two Cartier men’s wristwatches;
  • three Cartier lady’s bracelets;
  • two pairs of Cartier eyeglasses;
  • a Cartier lady’s ring;
  • two Gucci bags;
  • a Gucci purse;
  • a pair of Gucci sneakers;
  • two pairs of Gucci sunglasses;
  • seven Goyard bags;
  • two Goyard purses;
  • two Goyard coin cases;
  • a Goyard roller suitcase;
  • a Goyard luggage set;
  • eleven Chanel bags;
  • two Chanel wallets;
  • three Chanel purses;
  • a pair of Chanel suede shoes;
  • five Hermes bags;
  • three Hermes wallets;
  • a pair of Hermes slides;
  • a Dior handbag;
  • four Dior bags;
  • a Mini Lady Dior bag;
  • a Dior coin purse;
  • three Christian Dior bags;
  • a Prada Vitello purse;
  • a Prada Vitello wallet;
  • a Christian Louboutin Elisa phone pouch;
  • a Christian Louboutin wallet;
  • two Christian Louboutin bags;
  • a Fendi F wallet;
  • a Yves Saint Laurent wallet;
  • three Yves Saint Laurent bags;
  • two pairs of Yves Saint Laurent women’s shoes
  • four Valentino Garavani bags;
  • a Valentino Garavani purse;
  • a Botega Veneta bag;
  • a Manolo Blahnik heel slides;
  • a “designer wall clock” resembling a wristwatch;
  • an i-Mac computer;
  • eight Rolex men’s watches;
  • a Hublot men’s wristwatch;
  • a VCA stamped lady’s bracelet;
  • five white gold/gold neck chains and bracelets;
  • a pair of Dita sunglasses;
  • two pairs of Tom Ford sunglasses;
  • a pair of Tiffany eyeglasses; and
  • a Panerai men’s wristwatch

Following filing of Palafox’s sealed indictment in Virginia, an arrest warrant was issued on March 13th.

Palafox was arrested on April 10th in Los Angeles, California. Having had his passport seized and subjected to location monitoring, Palafox was granted release on a $50,000 appearance bond and his deeded California property.

The case picked back up in Virginia on April 15th, with the DOJ seeking Palafox’s detention pending trial.

The United States appeals to this Court, as the court of original jurisdiction over the offense, and requests reversal of the Magistrate Judge’s order of release and an order that the defendant be detained or in the alternative that the Court impose additional restrictions that will guarantee his appearance and the safety of the community.

The DOJ asserted Palafox was “a serious flight risk” and “danger to the community”.

Palafox poses a substantial risk of flight. Over a two-year period, he owned, operated, and controlled a large multi-level marketing scam that induced tens of thousands of victims to “invest” hundreds of millions of dollars.

Palafox not only directed the scheme, but he was its principal beneficiary, receiving over $30 million in fiat proceeds alone. He also received millions of dollars in bitcoin and cash.

Both forms of currency are easily transportable and transferrable, and thus can be used to facilitate flight.

Palafox has an extensive history of international travel and has substantial ties to the Philippines. He has family in the country and is a dual citizen, and as such, is able to travel using a passport that may be unknown to the U.S. government.

Just prior to his arrest, Palafox was attempting to travel to Mexico.

Palafox has also transferred substantial assets to the Philippines. In 2020 and 2021, Palafox controlled at least two bank accounts in the Philippines that each had balances of over $1 million.

Palafox did not disclose these foreign bank accounts to the Department of Treasury as required by law.

The funds in these accounts appear to have been drawn down in 2021 by withdrawals and transfers by Palafox, and the current location of those funds is not known.

Moreover, Palafox was in the process of transferring luxury vehicles to the Philippines before they were seized by the Government.

The Government likewise has substantial concerns that Palafox was not candid with the Magistrate Judge in the original detention hearing regarding his true assets.

When arrested, Palafox and his spouse were driving a Mercedes Benz SUV, which is titled to Palafox’s wife, and at the sentencing hearing, Palafox through counsel represented that he had “significant equity” in his Porter Ranch house.

This house was purchased for approximately $1.6 million in February 2021 at the height of the fraud. Id. at ¶ 14. Palafox, likewise, represented at the hearing that he owned multiple rental properties in Las Vegas, Nevada and received rental
income from these properties.

The Government does not know as of yet, which properties Palafox was referencing, but believes that these too might have been purchased with fraud proceeds.

Furthermore Palafox’s Porter Ranch house is owned by an LLC, ownership of the DOJ describes as “opaque”.

There are indications that third parties, including Palafox’s son and possibly his sister may have or have had an interest in the LCC, given that they self-identified as “members” in corporate records from 2021.

Third parties have also indicated that Palafox transferred the Porter Ranch house to BBMR Threshold Inc. to hide his ownership of the asset.

Palafox failed to disclose this information to the magistrate judge.

Moreover, he failed to disclose that he purchased the home with proceeds from the fraud, and as such, the property may be seized by the Government if Palafox is convicted.

It turns out, after PGI Global collapsed in 2021, Palafox has been anticipating his arrest;

Palafox has also actively sought to monitor the status of law enforcement efforts to arrest him, repeatedly directing members of his security team to see if there was a warrant for his arrest, including specifically inquiring if there was “any warrant on a Federal level.”

And in the event he learned of an arrest warrant, it appears Palafox intended to flee to Dubai;

Palafox commented to his bodyguard that Dubai does not extradite individuals to the United States. I

This is notable as Palafox has previously traveled to Dubai and because bank records indicate that $150,000 was transferred from one of Praetorian Group International Trading Inc’s bank account in the Philippines to Dubai for what appears to be the
purchase of a condominium.

On April 16th the court scheduled Palafox’s arraignment and hearing on the DOJ’s detainment motion for April 22nd.

Palafox pled not guilty at his arraignment and the court ordered his detainment.

On the same day, the court designated Palafox’s PGI Global criminal proceedings as a “complex case”.

At some point Palafox wound up in hospital while in custody. Details of Palafox’s hospital visit while in custody are under seal.

A Status Conference was held three days later on April 25th. Potentially throwing the whole PGI Global criminal case into jeopardy, Palafox’s detainment order was vacated.

As of April 25th, 2025, once released from hospital Palafox will be released pending trial on a $3 million unsecured appearance bond.

As per the terms of his release, Palafox is also subject to 24/7 home incarceration with GPS monitoring.

The SEC has also filed parallel civil fraud charges against Palafox and several accomplices.

Stay tuned for updates as BehindMLM continues to track both PGI Global fraud cases.