Ramil Ventura Palafox, CEO of Praetorian Group International (PGI), has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering in connection with a $200 million bitcoin Ponzi scheme that impacted over 90,000 investors globally.
According to U.S. prosecutors, Palafox, a 60-year-old dual citizen of the U.S. and the Philippines, lured investors with promises of daily returns of up to 3% through high-frequency bitcoin trading. In reality, PGI had no legitimate trading operations and paid older investors with funds from new ones—a classic Ponzi structure.
From December 2019 to October 2021, PGI raised over $201 million, leaving investors with losses exceeding $62.7 million. Authorities say Palafox used the funds to buy luxury homes in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, expensive vehicles, designer goods, and transferred money to family members.
Palafox is scheduled for sentencing on February 3 and could face up to 40 years in prison. He has agreed to repay $62.7 million in restitution.
Web3 security firm Blockaid reported that attackers exploited a vulnerability in New Gold Protocol’s (NGP) smart contract pricing mechanism. Using a flash loan, the attacker temporarily manipulated reserves, allowing them to buy tokens at deflated prices. Blockchain security company PeckShield confirmed that the stolen funds were funneled through crypto mixer Tornado Cash.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) confiscated CA$56 million in cryptocurrency from the unregistered exchange TradeOgre, marking the largest crypto seizure in Canadian history. The operation followed a Europol tip and found that TradeOgre operated without registration or customer verification, allowing criminal funds to flow through the platform. Authorities shut it down, although no charges have been filed so far. TradeOgre’s website now displays an RCMP seizure notice.
UxLink, a Web3-based social media platform, suffered a security breach resulting in losses of at least $28.1 million. Hackers reportedly gained access to the project’s multi-signature wallet, enabling them to move funds to various centralized and decentralized exchanges. They also minted around 10 trillion unauthorized UxLink tokens. The platform has asked users not to trade the token and is working with exchanges to freeze assets and implement a token swap.
Teen hacker Noah Urban, affiliated with the cybercriminal group Scattered Spider, was behind an unreported Crypto.com breach in early 2023, according to Bloomberg. Urban accessed sensitive employee data via phishing attacks but did not steal customer funds. The FBI later seized $4 million in crypto and other assets from him. He pleaded guilty and received a 10-year prison sentence. Blockchain investigator ZachXBT criticized Crypto.com for failing to disclose the breach.
A pan-European investigation led by Eurojust has dismantled a major crypto investment scam that defrauded more than 100 victims of at least €100 million across Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and other countries. Authorities arrested five individuals, including the suspected mastermind, and seized assets and bank accounts in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Romania, and Bulgaria. The scam, active since at least 2018, used fake platforms promising high returns and laundered funds through Lithuanian bank accounts. Victims seeking refunds were further scammed through demands for additional fees.
Top financial officials from the United States and United Kingdom, including U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.K. Chancellor Rachel Reeves, have launched a Transatlantic Taskforce for the Markets of the Future. The initiative will deliver a report within 180 days focused on crypto asset regulation, cross-border cooperation, and financial innovation strategies to protect investors and foster long-term market stability.
