After he was sentenced to twenty years prison back in February, health issues saw PGI Global founder Ramil Ventura Palafox released to home detention.

Palafox was supposed to surrender to the U.S. Marshals Service on April 6th, but instead went on the run.

Palafox spoke to a Probation Officer on April 6th. The officer confirmed with Palafox that he had to surrender at 12pm that day.

An April 16th filing from the DOJ lays out what happened next;

Rather than reporting, later that same day, at 12:19 pm PST, Palafox cut off his GPS monitoring device and fled.

He subsequently failed to respond to efforts by his Probation Officer to reach out to him, nor did he report to the BOP.

Following his failure to surrender as directed, a bench warrant was issued for Palafox’s arrest.

Since April 6, Palafox has been a fugitive and entirely non-compliant with this Court’s directions and the terms of his release.

Palafox was arrested in California on April 15th. The April 16th filing quoted above saw the DOJ request Palafox be denied release again.

The defendant was released on highly restrictive conditions given his acute flight risk.

He has violated these conditions at every turn, cutting off his GPS monitor, failing to respond to inquiries and directions from his probation officer, failing to report to prison as directed, and fleeing.

WHEREFORE, in order to prevent further flight, the United States respectfully requests that the Court enter an Order directing that the defendant be detained by the United States Marshals until he can be transferred to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons to serve his sentence.

The DOJ’s motion was granted later the same day. Palafox will now remain in the custody of U.S. Marshals, pending prison transport to begin his service.

PGI Global was an MLM crypto Ponzi Palafox launched in late 2019 or early 2020. Palafox was arrested in April 2025, with the DOJ pegging PGI Global losses at over $200 million.

The SEC filed civil fraud charges against Palafox in April 2025. The SEC’s case, which alleges $198 million in losses, was stayed pending the outcome of Palafox’s criminal case.

As of April 2026, Palafox’s SEC civil fraud case remains stayed.