US criminal investigation into PGI Global confirmed
Earlier today a reader tipped me off to one of PGI Global’s website domains being seized by US authorities.
Initially I was skeptical, owing to the domain in question not being one I was familiar with.
Dozens of rabbit holes later, BehindMLM can confirm the domain “praetorsglobal.com” was used by PGI Global and has been seized.
A visit to the Praetors Global website domain redirects to the following image message:
The text of the image reveals a joint US investigation into PGI Global;
The domain for PRAETORSGLOBAL.COM has been seized pursuant to a seizure warrant issued by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia … as part of a law enforcement action by:
-US Department of Justice – Eastern District of Virginia
-Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, Cyber Crimes Unit
The image is hosted on what appears to be an Amazon cloud server, specifically provisioned for the US government.
I’ll spare you the dozens of rabbit holes I went down to confirm the seizure is real.
After the original Ponzi scheme collapsed, PGI Global rebooted on the domain “pgiglobal1.trade”.
In the source-code of the homepage on that domain we find a link to PGI Global’s official Facebook page:
On September 22nd, the official PGI Global Facebook page published a post referencing “praetorsglobal.com” – both in text and image form:
Coincidentally September 22nd is the last post to PGI Global’s Facebook page.
I was still skeptical but, thanks to random Nigerians who diligently mirrored PGI Global’s Facebook page, was able to confirm that’s how the post went out from PGI Global on September 22nd.
So now that we’ve confirmed US authorities are pursuing a criminal investigation into PGI Global, what does this mean?
For starters it means PGI Global founder Ramil Ventura Palafox is in all likelihood a fugitive.
The DOJ’s domain seizure warrant would have been issued as part of a wider criminal case. That case would see RV Palafox indicted.
Unfortunately I can’t share details of that indictment, because it’s evidently been filed under seal.
Why?
RV Palafox is on the run. He fled the US earlier this year around the time of PGI Global’s initial collapse.
Whether Palafox knew of the US investigation or whether he preemptively fled is unclear.
Based on previous connections, I have placed Palafox in Dubai.
It feels like every second article I’m publishing these days references Dubai, and there’s a good reason for that.
With respect to MLM securities fraud, Dubai is a lawless crime den that harbors scammers from around the world.
Knowing what I know about MLM criminal cases, an international arrest warrant will have been issued against Palafox. It won’t be executed however unless he travels out of Dubai.
There’s a tiny chance US authorities might convince Dubai’s authorities to act but that’d be a first for MLM regulation.
As he’s on the run, Palafox appointed Heather Louise Graham to front the reboot as CEO.
Graham knows Palafox from at least one previous Ponzi scheme and was a top net-winner in the original PGI Global Ponzi.
Graham is a UK citizen and resident. As a top net-winner she’s sitting on a boat load of money but whether she too has fled to Dubai is unclear.
Graham has a family in the UK, so relocating isn’t as straight forward as it is for most MLM Ponzi scammers.
Graham’s been MIA since her appointment last month. Ditto her sidekick, Claire Wilkinson (another UK citizen).
Based on Google cache records, I believe the Praetors Global domain was only seized in the last few days.
The original domain has been disabled. WHOIS records show it is registered to Sarah Deloraya of SPD Business in the Philippines.
Deloraya (right) runs SPD Jobs and heads up the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Quezon City chapter.
How exactly Deloraya ties into PGI Global, or how she came to own the domain, is unclear.
On LinkedIn, someone going by “Pauline V.” cites herself as both HR Head of SPD Jobs and HR Manager of PGI Global.
Beyond owning PGI Global’s original domain, it seems there’s also executive crossover from Sarah Deloraya’s company.
I believe Palafox holds dual US and Philippine citizenship. The Philippine SEC however recently issued a PGI Global securities fraud warning, so I doubt he’s there.
PGI Global’s reboot domain is privately registered.
If a seizure warrant was executed on the Praetors Global domain, it’s highly likely that similar warrants were issued on PGI Global’s original and reboot domains.
The company is also using “pgiofficial.com”, which hasn’t been seized but has been recently disabled.
I’d love to be able to provide a more definitive timeline of what’s to come but for now I’m working in the dark.
Again based on past cases, Palafox’s indictment (and others) won’t be unsealed until he’s in custody.
If enough time passes and his co-conspirators have also been indicted, and they’re taken into custody for extradition to the US, we might get a peek at those (e.g. in the OneCoin case Ruja Ignatova was indicted in 2017 but remains missing, eventually we still got access to the filings).
For victims of PGI Global it is recommended you get in contact with US authorities through the provided email address.
Beyond that I suggest you seek legal advice from a lawyer.
Note that it doesn’t cost anything to email US authorities as requested.
Anyone asking for money with respect to the US investigation is trying to further scam you.
One rabbit-hole led me to a civil lawsuit filed against RV Palafox, Mark Davis, Rose Opara, Maureen Maxwell, Jason Walkup, Praetorian Group International, Walkup and Sons LLC and John and Jane Does.
The case was filed Oregon (3:21-cv-01289).
Plaintiff Ahmed Muyingo alleges he invested $45,000 into PGI Global and lost it all.
Tried to start withdrawing in February 2021 but “sorry for your loss”.
Funds were laundered through Jason Walkup, LLC and Wells Fargo bank accounts.
Rose Opara is head of PGI Global in North America.
The dumbass is also claiming Ponzi returns that never existed.
Why I’m bringing it up is the lawsuit provides a second reference vector for the “Praetors Global” domain:
Not going to bother tracking the case as it’s not going anywhere. It’ll either get tossed when the defendants can’t be found or the SEC will shut it down later.
This is purely speculation on my part, but one explanation for the borked Archive.org entries for praetorsglobal is that it was mirroring the original PGI Global website.
The DOJ might have implemented their seizure but it only initially affected images.
This explains why there’s Google cache images of Praetors Global content showing the DOJ seziure image in place of mirrored “pgiglobal.trade” website photos.
Upon seeing this, PGI Global quickly shut down their original website.
That worked until the DOJ gained control of “praetorsglobal.com” itself. “Pgiglobal.trade” remains disabled so maybe, for now, that’s a stalemate (hence the new reboot domain).
You can see a live copy of what I’m talking about with the cached images @ the Amazon IP 54.84.67.95 (put https:// in front of the IP).
It’s not a particularly strong theory but it’s the best explanation I can come up with.
Otherwise from a technical standpoint the timeline and what we can see in archives/caches is very confusing – which led to my initial skepticism.
Pgi released an update few hours ago but it was soon deleted… Screenshots posted in now what fb group…
Was a long rant blaming anyone but themselves for no withdraws and no mention of Feds stepping in…
Just the usual bs we’ve seen a million times before!!…
Palafox must be sweating bullets after they seized the domain. Shit just got real.
Hope they get them all and they rot in jail.
I always wonder why the same energy wasn’t put into bringing down USI Tech and investigating that a few years ago, the damage that did was disgusting.
The lack of action surrounding USI Tech was certainly strange.
I’ve seen no updates since it collapsed.
I lost $6300. Nothing but excuses and delay tactics when I questioned PGI about the payout delays.
They have zoom chats. You are invited a a member by e mail. They have a non existant health product line.
I filed a complaint with the SEC back in July of 2021. I do believe that Palafox and friends had a preplanned escape.
Palafox is a career criminal. May they all rot in jail because the PGI team has destroyed the lives of many investors.
Personally I am currently in debt now with a lower credit rating thanks to them.
I lost $2000, I base in Nigeria, it all started with a cock and bull stories and later became reality.
I even went on AWOL because of PGI, I lost trust from my friends cos of the money I invested and was waiting to cash it out so I could be able to settle everyone I did business with.
pls I got a lot of things to say, but for time sake, I urge the US authority to please treat this with equal justice.. thanks.
as i understand it palafox was arrested on arrival in the US on the 15/10/21, can anyone confirm this.
Your source should be able to confirm this. If they can’t, stop spreading misinformation.
I was very cautious while dealing with PGI from the word go. The management wasn’t straightforward on certain fronts.
They literally lied about products and services. Nothing seemed to be real.
They for instance sold us debit cards that never existed. They never gave room for complaints especially Mark Davies their CCO.
My family lost over $12,000.00 to this scammers, my son just graduated put in over $7,000.00 of all his savings, my wife two lost over $5,000.00.
I believe that the US government can assist in getting this scammers to pay back investors their money.
Im lost $11000.00.
You all would have better luck playing the slots. Stop falling for this crap.
My worlds smallest violin is playing tears for you.
So…many professional victims in this comment section. as soon as one crashes, it floods with professional victims.
I lost $500 in the going with no explanation.
Explanation is you invested in a Ponzi scheme and losing your money is what happens in a Ponzi scheme.
Please any recent updates about these criminals?
My husband and I, plus family members, are victims of this scam. We lost $30,000.
I pray they all rot in jail and we get all our money back.
If I had any updates I’d publish them.
Not publishing MLM news is kinda the opposite of what BehindMLM does.
We lost total of $400,000. we sick and devastated.
I lost over $10,000 to this criminal pgiscammers, hope to get my money back.
I was a victim of the PGI FRAUD.
I lost $100 in this. It was my first time investing, I had hope that it was true and that I could doble my investment in 200 days as promised but saddly it was nothing more than a scam.
I truely regret having invested in PGI Global, could have done much better doing my own trading on a exchange instead of waisting money on this ponzi site.
Hopefully the US government puts them behind bars and more importantly returns our money with out robing what was robed from us.
I lost $1,000 with PGI initial investment plus $1,000 (ROI) promised within the 200 days agreement. I think that the US Government can seek justice and return our money as agreed per contract.
Please send me the necessary documents for rebuttal or collections of my funds.
No word on recovery yet. Or even the case against Palafox.
Also the chances of anyone in the DOJ personally contacting you are slim to none, the onus is on you to keep up with any developments.
A close family friend has invested $451,100, I personally lost $60,000, my immediate family a total of approximate $50,000. I can provide details.
Please give us update Re DOJ, IRS and FBI investigation. Is RV Palafox already in custody? Are all of his assets seized? Thank you!
I lost a total of 48,000. It’s a Hell.
See #26.
Please, US governmentlet PGI RV Palafox pay us our investment.
I loss my 600$ and i dont WORK.
PGI RV Palafox pay us our investment pls.
We lost over 3,000$ it’s frustrating.
Sad. But you can scream about it out of your window… with the same zero result.
I lost 30,000.00. Hopefully the government bring these bad guys to justice. My family is broken because of this.
Please give me back my capital. Thanks so much for your assistance.
Who are you asking to give you back your investment?
Palafox is on the run, he’s not giving you back anything. That’s not how Ponzi schemes work anyway.
What can I do to recover my money. My family lost about $60000. Has anyone recovered any money yet? What can we do as a group to recover our money?
Thank you.
See #26.
If you want any shot at recovery report to the SEC/DOJ.
I invested 1000 dollars in PGI in January 22nd 2021.
I never ever managed to withdraw any amount. How do I recover my money?
You can start by reading the comments above.
I invested in PGI without receiving a cent. Kindly update me of any new development please.
PGI seized by the government! Surely the government will announce to victims the legitimate contact number/link/address so we can have legitimate updates about these investigations.
Getting the confirmed legitimate contact will help victims to avoid more scams from FB messengers.
Numbers of scammers are sending messages with comments “they were able to get their investments 70% from PGI”.
Anyone telling you they got anything back from a collapsed scam is a recovery scammer. Avoid.
I invested over $70,000 of my family’s funds. Please update me with any new development, please.
I invested more then 10,000.00 dollar please update me if anything happens.
Is there any number or email so we can contact them and speak to them?
Thank you
The DOJ literally provided you with an email address to contact them on.
Read the article please.
I have send so much emails to them but no one is answering.
Can you telling what’s going to happen now are the going to pay as back the money that we paid I’m really worried coz I have put more then 10000 dollars.
No.
No. You invested into a Ponzi scheme and your money is gone.
I suggest you proceed as such and keep an eye on things. A few years down the track you might be able to file a claim for partial recovery.
I have filled the form and send it to them but no one answering.
I can’t speak for US authorities but you might very well not receive an answer.
I suspect while your email is filed, nothing much will happen till Palafox is apprehended.
You should get a confirmation email that your form was received. Other than that, there won’t be anything unless they need more information from you, or until a Receiver is appointed.
This could be a long, long, long time before a Receiver is appointed, and there is no guarantee that a Receiver will be appointed.
I invested $5,000 please hope we will get back our capital at least.
Is there any status updates? I invested $35,000, in this company.
If there were updates you’d see them.
Any updates yet on PGI or the master scammer RV Palafox please?
PGI Global still a Ponzi scheme. RV Palafox still in hiding.
I really want to know what’s going on with our funds at PGI I lost some money.
Yeah PGI Global is a bit of a weird one.
Palafox went into hiding and hasn’t been seen since. Assuming he’s dicked off to Dubai or being sheltered in the Philippines.
RV Palafox, i need my $25K back. You used the name of God to persuade us to trust you.
God will make you pay for your wrongdoing and deception. I NEED MY MONEY BACK!
yes i lost over 5.000.00… maybe a miracle will happen for us to receive wat we lost…
i speak it in returns on receiving all that was lost… shalom.
I lost $3000 and my uncle that introduced me lost a whooping sum of $10,000 we are still in a state of comatose
RV palafox needs to be found and sentenced alongside with accomplices and even his family by firing squad.
Invested over £30,000 and brought family members & friends.
Please keep me updated thank you.
I lost more. My family and friends suffer too much cause of these issues. please keep me informed.
Why is there such an inconsistency with domains being seized or not being seized when indictments happen?
Hi. Any latest update about PGI? Is RV Palafox and others apprehended?
Nope.