FBI sanctions listing
RAMIL VENTURA PALAFOX
RAMIL VENTURA PALAFOX is an individual designated on the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation — Wanted (FBI) sanctions list under the White-Collar Crime programme, listed on 2026-04-13. White-Collar Crime. This page summarises the public designation — known aliases, identifying particulars, the stated reason for listing and linked parties — alongside an independent, transparent risk indicator.
Reason for listing
Failure to Appear (Wire Fraud; Concealment Money Laundering) Ramil Ventura Palafox operated a cryptocurrency investment fraud scheme, Praetorian Group International (PGI), that raised more than $200 million from at least 90,000 victims worldwide. Palafox and others fraudulently marketed PGI to potential investors as a multilevel marketing (“MLM”) business that promised to pay victim-investors guaranteed daily profits in exchange for their purchase of purported cryptocurrency-related investment products. To facilitate investments, Palafox fraudulently misrepresented and caused others to misrepresent material facts regarding PGI’s business activity, investment platform, expected investment returns, and the use of investors’ funds. Despite his promises and representations to victims, PGI was neither purchasing nor trading bitcoin on many victims’ investments. Instead, Palafox and others used victims’ funds to pay other victims, to further promote the scheme, and to fund personal expenditures, including real estate and luxury sports cars. Although some victims received payouts from PGI, many victims lost all or some of their investments. In March 2025, Palafox was charged with eight counts of wire fraud, five counts of inducing interstate travel with the intent to defraud, one count of concealment money laundering, and nine counts of unlawful monetary transactions. On April 9, 2025, Palafox was arrested by the FBI in California. On September 16, 2025, Palafox pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of concealment money laundering. On February 12, 2026, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison. On April 6, 2026, Palafox removed his GPS monitor, failed to report to prison, and has since fled. On April 6, 2026, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Palafox in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria, Virginia. SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AN ESCAPE RISK
Statement of reasons as published by US FBI. This is the issuing authority's wording, reproduced for reference.
Designation record
| List / authority | US FBI (FBI) — FBI — White-Collar Crime |
|---|---|
| Entity type | Person |
| Programmes / regime | White-Collar Crime |
| Date listed | 2026-04-13 |
| Source record ID | fbi:6d4795c3c203428bb48ed1f0ce2477c3 |
| Last updated (our copy) | 2026-06-04 |
Identity & particulars
| Position / role | White-Collar Crime |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | July 4, 1965 |
| Gender | Male |
Known aliases (2)
Deep-research dossier
Not yet deep-researched
The instant review above is drawn from the public lists. A deep-research dossier goes much further — an analyst-grade OSINT report: associate & co-investment network screening, structural / ownership opacity, a dated risk trajectory, an 8-factor scoring model, and numbered, source-linked evidence. See the format in the design system.
Clarifications & right of reply
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Source & provenance
| Issuing authority | U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation — Wanted |
|---|---|
| Source identifier | fbi:6d4795c3c203428bb48ed1f0ce2477c3 |
| Aggregated by | Sanctiometer (independent) — verify against the issuing authority's official list before acting. |