In short
Denver pastor Eli Regalado and his spouse Kaitlyn face 40 felony expenses for allegedly defrauding Christian traders of $3.4 million via the INDXcoin crypto between January 2022 and July 2023.
The couple are accused of pocketing a minimum of $1.3 million for private bills, together with luxurious holidays, beauty dentistry, and residential renovations they claimed “the Lord” directed them to make.
Regalado admitted to taking the cash in a since-deleted video, saying “these expenses are true” whereas sustaining “God shouldn’t be performed with this undertaking” and asking followers to face by them.
A Denver grand jury has indicted a Colorado pastor and his spouse on 40 felony expenses for allegedly orchestrating a multi-million-dollar crypto rip-off that focused their Christian group, with the couple accused of pocketing $1.3 million for private luxuries whereas claiming divine steering.
Eli and Kaitlyn Regalado face expenses of theft, securities fraud, and racketeering after soliciting practically $3.4 million from over 300 traders between January 2022 and July 2023 for INDXcoin, in accordance with a Tuesday assertion by the Denver District Legal professional’s Workplace.
INDXcoin is a cryptocurrency they created and marketed via their online-only Victorious Grace Church, the assertion mentioned.
Investigators say the Regalados used their faith-based connections to vow exorbitant returns whereas claiming God had directed the enterprise as a “wealth switch” for his individuals.
INDXcoin maintained zero worth all through its existence, that means all traders misplaced their complete investments.
The crypto may solely be exchanged via Kingdom Wealth Alternate, a platform the Regalados managed and allegedly shut down periodically to stop traders from withdrawing funds.
When traders grew cautious of INDXcoin’s lack of returns, Eli Regalado reportedly instructed them “the Lord” was directing everybody to carry their positions.
“In the event you look intently in any respect types of crypto and on-line scams, scammers typically trick human minds by triggering concern, greed, and FOMO quite than hacking methods,” Karan Pujara, founding father of the rip-off protection platform ScamBuzzer, beforehand instructed Decrypt.
“The worldwide nature of crypto makes it troublesome to work with country-specific laws to get better funds, in addition to for submitting authorized complaints,” he added.
“Assured by God”
The couple allegedly spent the vast majority of the $1.3 million on beauty dentistry, luxurious purses, snowmobiles, and luxurious holidays,” in accordance with the Colorado Securities Fee’s assertion in January 2024.
Of the greater than $3 million raised from traders, Regalado claimed that half went to the Inside Income Service on taxes, whereas stating that “a number of hundred thousand {dollars} went to a house transform that the Lord instructed us to do.”
In a since-deleted video posted in January 2024, Eli Regalado admitted the allegations have been correct.
Nonetheless, he maintained that “God shouldn’t be performed with this undertaking” and requested his followers to face by the couple.
In response to authorized filings made by the state, the pastor had instructed traders their success was “assured by God” and dismissed authorized knowledgeable recommendation that INDXcoin constituted a safety requiring correct registration.
“These expenses mark a significant step ahead in our work to carry the Regalados accountable for his or her alleged crimes and to convey a measure of justice to the victims,” mentioned Denver District Legal professional John Walsh.
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