Online pastor accused of ‘worthless’ crypto scam says God did it
A Colorado-based online pastor has been accused of fraud for selling “worthless” cryptocurrency only because “the Lord” told him to give his followers 10x returns.
In a strange nine-minute video – posted on the official website of INDXcoin – INDXcoin founder and pastor Eli Regalado told the users of the INDXcoin community that the allegations against him and his partner are true.
The allegations are that Kaitlyn and I pocketed $1.3 million and I came out and said those allegations were true.
On Jan. 18, Regalado and his partner Caitlin Regalado were charged with fraud for their roles in issuing and marketing a fake token called INDXcoin to their followers, according to a statement from the Colorado Securities Commission.
Online pastor charged with $1.3 million crypto fraud in CO Lord has released a 9-minute video explaining that he is selling cryptocurrency with no clear exit and spending some of the proceeds on “home renovations that Lord told us to do.”
Here's a super commitment. pic.twitter.com/scKpF8nyrT
— Molly White (@molly0xFFF) January 21, 2024
Colorado Securities Commissioner Tung Chan said: “We allege that Mr. Regalado exploited the faith and trust of his Christian community to sell them worthless cryptocurrencies while defrauding them of their hopes of riches.
“The complaint alleges that Regalado targeted Christian communities in Denver and that God told him directly that investors would become rich if they put money into INDXcoin.”
From June 2022 to April 2023, Colorado's regulator alleges INDXcoin raised nearly $3.2 million from more than 300 investors on a platform called Kingdom Wealth Exchange.
Most of the money was raised from the online-only Victoria Grace Church, where Regalado serves as pastor.
Of the more than 3 million dollars collected from investors, Regalado half went to the Internal Revenue Service on taxes, and a large amount went to God-sponsored home improvements.
A few hundred thousand dollars went toward the home improvement the Lord told us to do.
Regalado closed the kingdom's stock exchange on November 1, 2023, saying he and his partner were “on the brink of poverty” after saying there were “not enough finances to run internal servants.”
In the same announcement, Regalado informed INDXcoin owners that God told all investors to refrain from selling the token and his followers to “stop being subjugated by mammon (chasing money).”
Related: Crypto exchange Debiex faces fraud charges, CFTC fines $2.3M
Admitting they were only moments from poverty, the couple accused by Chan spent most of the $1.3 million on cosmetic dentistry, luxury handbags, snowmobiles, home renovations and luxury vacations.
Cointelegraph reached out to Regalado for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
Magazine: Defy's Billion Dollar Secret: Insiders Responsible for Hacking
