{"id":51580,"date":"2025-09-18T16:00:51","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T13:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/?p=51580"},"modified":"2025-09-18T14:59:39","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T11:59:39","slug":"bitcoin-ponzi-scheme-ceo-admits-200m-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/bitcoin-ponzi-scheme-ceo-admits-200m-fraud\/","title":{"rendered":"Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme: CEO Admits $200M Fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">A major <strong>Bitcoin Ponzi<\/strong> scheme has come to light. Praetorian Group International CEO (PGI) Ramil Ventura Palafox pleaded guilty in the U.S. to a $200 million crypto fraud, facing up to 40 years in prison. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_71 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/bitcoin-ponzi-scheme-ceo-admits-200m-fraud\/#Palafoxs_200_Million_Bitcoin_Ponzi_Scheme\" title=\"Palafox\u2019s $200 Million Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme\u00a0\u00a0\">Palafox\u2019s $200 Million Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/bitcoin-ponzi-scheme-ceo-admits-200m-fraud\/#Luxury_Spending_with_Investor_Funds\" title=\"Luxury Spending with Investor Funds\u00a0\u00a0\">Luxury Spending with Investor Funds\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/bitcoin-ponzi-scheme-ceo-admits-200m-fraud\/#Court_Proceedings_and_Sentencing\" title=\"Court Proceedings and Sentencing\u00a0\u00a0\">Court Proceedings and Sentencing\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Palafoxs_200_Million_Bitcoin_Ponzi_Scheme\"><\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Palafox\u2019s $200 Million Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><strong>Praetorian Group International (PGI)<\/strong> CEO Ramil Ventura Palafox lured investors by promising daily returns between 0.5% and 3%. He falsely claimed that PGI engaged in high-volume Bitcoin trading. In reality, the company recycled funds from new participants to pay earlier investors.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">From December 2019 to October 2021, more than 90,000 investors deposited at least $201 million into PGI. This included $30.3 million in cash and 8,198 <a href=\"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/?s=bitcoin\">BTC<\/a> worth $171.5 million at the time. At least $62.7 million in investor losses were recorded.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Luxury_Spending_with_Investor_Funds\"><\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Luxury Spending with Investor Funds\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Court documents revealed that Palafox used investor money for personal luxuries instead of trading. Key expenses included:\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">$3 million on 20 luxury cars (Porsche, Lamborghini, Bentley, McLaren, Ferrari)\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Over $6 million on homes in Las Vegas and Los Angeles\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">$329,000 on luxury hotel penthouses\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Millions on designer goods from Gucci, Cartier, Rolex, and Herm\u00e8s\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">At least $800,000 in cash and 100 Bitcoin transferred to a family member\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">These lavish purchases highlighted how investors\u2019 funds fueled a fraudulent lifestyle.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Court_Proceedings_and_Sentencing\"><\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Court Proceedings and Sentencing\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Palafox pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering. He is scheduled to be sentenced on February 3, 2026, in Virginia. He faces up to 40 years in prison, though federal judges typically impose sentences below the maximum.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Under his plea deal, Palafox agreed to pay $62.7 million in restitution. Prosecutors compared the case to notorious Ponzi schemes like BitConnect, PlusToken, and OneCoin. Experts emphasized that the real issue is fraudulent behavior, not Bitcoin itself.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}\"> <em class=\"darkmysite_style_txt_border darkmysite_processed\" data-darkmysite_alpha_bg=\"rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\">You can also freely share your thoughts and comments about the topic in the comment section. Additionally, don\u2019t forget to follow us on our\u00a0<a class=\"darkmysite_style_txt_border darkmysite_style_link darkmysite_processed\" href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/coinengineernews\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" data-darkmysite_alpha_bg=\"rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\"><strong class=\"darkmysite_style_txt_border darkmysite_processed\" data-darkmysite_alpha_bg=\"rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\">Telegram,\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><a class=\"darkmysite_style_txt_border darkmysite_style_link darkmysite_processed\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@CoinEngineer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" data-darkmysite_alpha_bg=\"rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\"><strong class=\"darkmysite_style_txt_border darkmysite_processed\" data-darkmysite_alpha_bg=\"rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\">YouTube<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0and\u00a0<a class=\"darkmysite_style_txt_border darkmysite_style_link darkmysite_processed\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/coinengineers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-darkmysite_alpha_bg=\"rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\"><strong class=\"darkmysite_style_txt_border darkmysite_processed\" data-darkmysite_alpha_bg=\"rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\">Twitter<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0channels for\u00a0<\/em><em class=\"darkmysite_style_txt_border darkmysite_processed\" data-darkmysite_alpha_bg=\"rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\">the latest\u00a0<a class=\"darkmysite_style_txt_border darkmysite_style_link darkmysite_processed\" title=\"News\" href=\"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" data-darkmysite_alpha_bg=\"rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\">news<\/a>\u00a0and updates.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A major Bitcoin Ponzi scheme has come to light. Praetorian Group International CEO (PGI) Ramil Ventura Palafox pleaded guilty in the U.S. to a $200 million crypto fraud, facing up to 40 years in prison. \u00a0 Palafox\u2019s $200 Million Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme\u00a0\u00a0 Praetorian Group International (PGI) CEO Ramil Ventura Palafox lured investors by promising daily<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":33979,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[657,2],"tags":[23984,23981,1530,847,23986,16438,23982,23985,1531,23983],"class_list":["post-51580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-en","category-news","tag-bitcoin-fraud","tag-bitcoin-ponzi","tag-crypto-fraud","tag-crypto-news","tag-crypto-scandals","tag-investor-losses","tag-pgi-ceo","tag-pgi-ponzi","tag-ponzi-scheme","tag-ramil-ventura-palafox"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme: CEO Admits $200M Fraud - Coin Engineer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bitcoin Ponzi scheme worth $200M exposed: PGI CEO Ramil Ventura Palafox pleads guilty. Investors lost $62M. Full details here!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/bitcoin-ponzi-scheme-ceo-admits-200m-fraud\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme: CEO Admits $200M Fraud - Coin Engineer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bitcoin Ponzi scheme worth $200M exposed: PGI CEO Ramil Ventura Palafox pleads guilty. Investors lost $62M. Full details here!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/bitcoin-ponzi-scheme-ceo-admits-200m-fraud\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Coin Engineer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-18T13:00:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-18T11:59:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/FBI-and-Japan-Reveal-Details-of-the-305M-DMM-Hack.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Yeliz Akmaca\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Yeliz Akmaca\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/bitcoin-ponzi-scheme-ceo-admits-200m-fraud\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/bitcoin-ponzi-scheme-ceo-admits-200m-fraud\/\",\"name\":\"Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme: CEO Admits $200M Fraud - Coin Engineer\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/bitcoin-ponzi-scheme-ceo-admits-200m-fraud\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/bitcoin-ponzi-scheme-ceo-admits-200m-fraud\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/FBI-and-Japan-Reveal-Details-of-the-305M-DMM-Hack.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-18T13:00:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-18T11:59:39+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/5f900e6c865999388c1ea494e5953442\"},\"description\":\"Bitcoin Ponzi scheme worth $200M exposed: PGI CEO Ramil Ventura Palafox pleads guilty. Investors lost $62M. Full details here!\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/bitcoin-ponzi-scheme-ceo-admits-200m-fraud\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/bitcoin-ponzi-scheme-ceo-admits-200m-fraud\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/bitcoin-ponzi-scheme-ceo-admits-200m-fraud\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/FBI-and-Japan-Reveal-Details-of-the-305M-DMM-Hack.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/FBI-and-Japan-Reveal-Details-of-the-305M-DMM-Hack.png\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"North Korea 2025 Crypto Hacks\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/bitcoin-ponzi-scheme-ceo-admits-200m-fraud\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme: CEO Admits $200M Fraud\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Coin Engineer\",\"description\":\"Btc, Coins, Pre-Sale, DeFi, NFT\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/5f900e6c865999388c1ea494e5953442\",\"name\":\"Yeliz Akmaca\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b399e2146177639d343205648bae3bdb3cd7bb9d02c7186f71149c7122151b69?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b399e2146177639d343205648bae3bdb3cd7bb9d02c7186f71149c7122151b69?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Yeliz Akmaca\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/author\/cmyelizz\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme: CEO Admits $200M Fraud - Coin Engineer","description":"Bitcoin Ponzi scheme worth $200M exposed: PGI CEO Ramil Ventura Palafox pleads guilty. Investors lost $62M. Full details here!","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/bitcoin-ponzi-scheme-ceo-admits-200m-fraud\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme: CEO Admits $200M Fraud - Coin Engineer","og_description":"Bitcoin Ponzi scheme worth $200M exposed: PGI CEO Ramil Ventura Palafox pleads guilty. Investors lost $62M. Full details here!","og_url":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/bitcoin-ponzi-scheme-ceo-admits-200m-fraud\/","og_site_name":"Coin Engineer","article_published_time":"2025-09-18T13:00:51+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-09-18T11:59:39+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/FBI-and-Japan-Reveal-Details-of-the-305M-DMM-Hack.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Yeliz Akmaca","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Yeliz Akmaca","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/bitcoin-ponzi-scheme-ceo-admits-200m-fraud\/","url":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/bitcoin-ponzi-scheme-ceo-admits-200m-fraud\/","name":"Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme: CEO Admits $200M Fraud - Coin Engineer","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/bitcoin-ponzi-scheme-ceo-admits-200m-fraud\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/bitcoin-ponzi-scheme-ceo-admits-200m-fraud\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/FBI-and-Japan-Reveal-Details-of-the-305M-DMM-Hack.png","datePublished":"2025-09-18T13:00:51+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-18T11:59:39+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/5f900e6c865999388c1ea494e5953442"},"description":"Bitcoin Ponzi scheme worth $200M exposed: PGI CEO Ramil Ventura Palafox pleads guilty. Investors lost $62M. Full details here!","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/bitcoin-ponzi-scheme-ceo-admits-200m-fraud\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/bitcoin-ponzi-scheme-ceo-admits-200m-fraud\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/bitcoin-ponzi-scheme-ceo-admits-200m-fraud\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/FBI-and-Japan-Reveal-Details-of-the-305M-DMM-Hack.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/FBI-and-Japan-Reveal-Details-of-the-305M-DMM-Hack.png","width":1920,"height":1080,"caption":"North Korea 2025 Crypto Hacks"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/bitcoin-ponzi-scheme-ceo-admits-200m-fraud\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme: CEO Admits $200M Fraud"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/","name":"Coin Engineer","description":"Btc, Coins, Pre-Sale, DeFi, NFT","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/5f900e6c865999388c1ea494e5953442","name":"Yeliz Akmaca","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b399e2146177639d343205648bae3bdb3cd7bb9d02c7186f71149c7122151b69?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b399e2146177639d343205648bae3bdb3cd7bb9d02c7186f71149c7122151b69?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Yeliz Akmaca"},"url":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/author\/cmyelizz\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51580"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51580\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51582,"href":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51580\/revisions\/51582"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/coinengineer.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}