A report from the Department of Justice (DOJ) has been released concerning the CEO of Praetorian Group International. According to the reports shared, the CEO has admitted to scamming over 90,000 victims of over $200 million.The CEO, Ramil Ventura, a 60-year-old citizen of the United States and the Philippines, admitted to running a global-based scam scheme that defrauded individuals all over the world.
The report showed that Ramil owned a majority stake in the company, and as expected, he operated as a top leader and major promoter. Basically the CEO deceived people and told them that PGI would help them make money through Bitcoin trading and they would make as much as 0.5% to 3% daily from investing their Bitcoin.
In truth, PGI did not trade bitcoin at the level needed to keep such profits. Instead, he paid old members with money collected from new ones.
The collapsed scheme operated between December 2019 and October 2021, and within that period, investors put in more than $201 million into PGI. This also included around $30 million in cash and over 8,000 bitcoin worth about $171 million.
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To even enhance the Ponzi, Ramil built an online portal that allowed investors to see their account balance. So, from 2020 till 2021, this site showed fake gains, which caused members to believe their money was growing and safe. When the scheme collapsed, the losses recorded were up to at least $62.6 million.
Ramil, on the other hand, used the money he had scammed from investors to fund his personal luxuries and lifestyle. He did this so he could further convince investors that he too was making money off the Ponzi scheme. He spent about $3 million to buy 20 high-end cars, including big brands like Porsche, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Bentley, and McLaren.
He also spent another $329,000 on his desired penthouse stays at luxury hotels. As if this was not enough, he bought four homes in Las Vegas and Los Angeles worth over $6 million. On top of that, he used about $3 million more to shop for designer clothes, jewelry, watches, and home items from stores like Gucci, Cartier, Rolex, Hermes, and others.
He even moved at least $800,000 in cash and 100 bitcoin (then valued at $3.3 million) to a family member. So far, the CEO is awaiting trial, and his sentence is due on February 3rd, 2026. He could also face up to 40 years in prison but will likely receive less. Under his plea deal, he must repay more than $62.6 million to the victims.
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