The SEC has sued PGI Global’s Ramil Venture Palafox and several relief defendant accomplices.

Ramil Ventura Palafox is the sole named defendant. The SEC has also sued four relief defendants;

  1. BBMR Threshold LLC – Nevada shell company used to launder PGI Global investor funds, registered to Bryce Palafox (RV’s son) and Rubi Esteves, aka Rubi Palafox-Esteves (right)
  2. Darvie Mendoza – RV Palafox’s brother-in-law
  3. Marissa Mendoza Palafox – RV Palafox’s wife
  4. Linda Ventura – RV Palafox’s mother

As reviewed by BehindMLM in July 2020, PGI Global review was an MLM crypto Ponzi.

As alleged by the SEC in its Complaint, PGI Global was a $198 million Ponzi scheme;

From in or about January 2020 through in or about October 2021 (the “Relevant Period”), RV Palafox orchestrated an international securities fraud scheme to misappropriate millions of dollars of investor funds he obtained through Praetorian Group International Corporation (“PGI Global”), a now-defunct entity he controlled.

RV Palafox secured over $198 million in Bitcoin (BTC) and fiat currency investments for PGI Global during the Relevant Period. He obtained these funds from victims who purchased PGI Global membership packages based on false promises that their investments would guarantee them large low-risk returns from Forex and crypto asset trading.

Naturally there was no profitable trading. Instead, Palafox and his PGI Global accomplices stole investor funds.

RV Palafox misappropriated over $57 million of the funds he obtained through PGI Global’s unregistered securities offerings. Rather than trade with these funds as promised, he used investor money to enrich himself and various insiders including members of his family and certain other PGI Global associates—purchasing, among other things, real estate, Lamborghinis, and items from retailers including Cartier, Versace, and Louis Vuitton.

RV Palafox also transferred funds, assets, vehicles, and other items purchased with PGI Global investor funds to the Relief Defendants.

What Palafox and his accomplices didn’t steal, was used to further PGI Global as a Ponzi scheme.

RV Palafox meanwhile used the vast majority of the remaining PGI Global investor funds to pay certain other investors—payments that ostensibly represented profits and other rewards those investors had earned from PGI Global’s trading operations.

In fact, this money represented funds circulated from new investors to old investors.

PGI Global collapsed in March 2021. Palafox attempted to reboot PGI Global, hiding behind promoter Helen L Graham…

…however that only lasted till October 2021.

As alleged by the SEC, both iterations of PGI Global were Ponzi schemes rooted in securities fraud.

Throughout the Relevant Period, RV Palafox and promoters working at his direction represented to investors that PGI Global was profitably trading BTC and earning its investors enormous returns.

In fact, RV Palafox did not have the expertise in the crypto asset industry he and PGI Global claimed he had.

PGI Global never had an “Auto Trading” platform and was conducting little to no trading of any kind on investors’ behalf.

PGI Global was not licensed to deal in or trade securities or crypto assets in the Philippines, nor was it licensed to trade crypto assets in Estonia at any point during the Relevant Period.

Palafox presented investors with purported evidence of trading in marketing videos and the PGI Global backoffice.

The SEC claims provided figures were baloney.

The purported profits RV Palafox and PGI Global claimed were fictitious.

As to what was actually going on, the SEC provides some examples;

Between in or about July 2020 and in or about October 2020, for example, RV Palafox transferred over 364 BTC out of PGI Global-controlled crypto asset addresses to this third-party money service business and converted these investor deposits to approximately $3.8 million in cash.

RV Palafox used this cash for his own benefit.

On or about September 22, 2020, for example, RV Palafox transferred PGI Global investors’ BTC deposits from a PGI Global crypto asset address to the third-party money service business referenced above in exchange for $300,000 in cash.

The same day, RV Palafox purchased a Lamborghini in Las Vegas, Nevada, for approximately $300,000 in cash.

RV Palafox and Marissa Palafox purchased real property and various other things of value with PGI Global investor funds during the Relevant Period.

For example, RV Palafox purchased his personal residence during the Relevant Period with approximately $1.7 million of PGI Global investor funds.

Enter the BBMR Threshold shell company.

In or about June 2021, for example, Associate 1 wrote to RV Palafox that they “have to make sure you are not in any way implicated with the company because all the company [assets] related to you will be frozen.”

RV Palafox responded: “All the houses and cars has [sic] to be transfer [sic] to the TRUSTS.”

RV Palafox directed Associate 1 and Associate 2 to create BBMR for the purpose of holding assets purchased with misappropriated investor funds, and/or funds derived from the sale of assets that had been purchased with misappropriated investor funds.

“Associate 1” and “Associate 2” refer to Bryce Palafox and Rubi Esteves (not sure which is which).

RV Palafox subsequently transferred or directed the transfer of assets purchased with PGI Global investor funds, or of cash derived from the sale of assets purchased with PGI Global investor funds, to BBMR through and beyond the end of the Relevant Period.

RV Palafox transferred or directed the transfer of certain assets to BBMR in anticipation of PGI Global’s collapse as, contrary to his representations to investors, he knew PGI Global did not have the funds to repay investors.

RV Palafox subsequently conveyed this residence to BBMR on or about August 23, 2021.

RV Palafox also transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars to BBMR in funds derived from the sale of assets purchased with PGI Global investor funds

In total, BBMR received approximately $777,000 in cash derived from the sale of assets purchased with PGI Global investor funds.

RV Palafox also conveyed or directed the conveyance to BBMR of real estate purchased for his benefit with over $4.9 million in PGI Global investor funds.

Some PGI Global investor funds were laundered directly through Palafox’s relatives.

Darvie Mendoza is RV Palafox’s brother-in-law. He received $22,500 in gross salary payments from PGI Global between April and August of 2021.

However, Darvie Mendoza also received payments derived from PGI Global investor funds unrelated to any work or services he performed for PGI Global, including a $320,212 mortgage payment authorized by RV Palafox. Darvie Mendoza had no legitimate claim to the $320,212 mortgage payment he received.

Relief Defendant Linda Ventura—who is RV Palafox’s mother—nevertheless received cash and gifts derived from PGI Global investor funds including a mortgage payment of approximately $169,252 and a Range Rover vehicle. Linda Ventura had no legitimate claim to this cash or these gifts.

Relief Defendant Marissa Mendoza Palafox—who is RV Palafox’s wife—also benefitted from PGI Global investor funds.

Among other things, Marissa Mendoza Palafox received items paid for with PGI Global investor funds including over $1.18 million in Cartier jewelry and
purchases at luxury retailers including Nordstrom, Neiman-Marcus, Tiffany & Co., Louis Vuitton,
Christian Dior, Chanel and Hermes totaling approximately $88,000.

Marissa Mendoza Palafox had no legitimate claim to these items paid for with PGI Global investor funds.

All up, RV Palafox “misappropriated approximately $57 million of PGI Global investor funds.”

RV Palafox’s unauthorized uses of these funds included buying real estate worth millions of dollars along with various other high-value purchases.

For example, by the end of the Relevant Period, RV Palafox had spent over $340,000 of PGI Global investor funds on watches, and approximately $3.4 million on automobiles.

As a named Defendant, the SEC has sued RV Palafox for multiple violations of the Securities Exchange Act.

The PGI Global Relief Defendants have been sued for unjust enrichment.

The SEC is seeking an injunction against the PGI Global defendants, as well as disgorgement and civil monetary penalties.

The SEC’s Complaint was filed on April 22nd, 2025. Summons for the defendants were issued on April 23rd.

Separately, the DOJ has filed PGI Global criminal charges against RV Palafox. Palafox was arrested in California earlier this month.

Stay tuned for updates as BehindMLM continues to track both the civil and criminal PGI Global fraud cases.