A Denver, Colorado-based on-line pastor and his spouse have been indicted Tuesday on fees associated to a cryptocurrency fraud scheme that raised greater than $3 million from faith-based buyers.
On-line pastor Eli Regalado and his spouse, Kaitlyn, have been indicted on 40 counts stemming from what Denver District Legal professional John Walsh described as a “multi-million-dollar cryptocurrency rip-off.”
Between January 2022 and July 2023, the Regalados allegedly solicited nearly $3.4 million by encouraging folks of their spiritual community to purchase INDXcoin, a token they created and offered by means of the Kingdom Wealth Trade platform.
They spent a minimum of $1.3 million on private expenditures, together with a house renovation that they claimed “the Lord” informed them to do, whereas solely a small quantity of the proceeds went to the enterprise enterprise.
In keeping with the indictment, a minimum of 300 folks invested within the token, which authorities say “maintained zero worth,” leading to whole losses for all buyers.
“These fees 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 in a Tuesday press launch, including:
“I need to thank the prosecutors and investigators in my workplace, and, significantly, the investigators with the Colorado Division of Securities and the Colorado Legal professional Basic’s Workplace, whose excellent work on the case resulted on this indictment.”
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Pastor claims divine steerage
The indictment comes six months after the Colorado-based on-line pastor and his spouse have been charged with fraud for his or her function in issuing and advertising and marketing the INDXcoin rip-off token to their followers, Cointelegraph reported on Jan. 22.
“We allege that Mr. Regalado took benefit of the belief and religion of his personal Christian group and that he peddled outlandish guarantees of wealth to them when he offered them basically nugatory cryptocurrencies,” acknowledged Colorado Securities Commissioner Tung Chan on the time, including:
“The criticism alleges that Regalado focused Christian communities in Denver and claimed that God informed him instantly that buyers would turn out to be rich in the event that they put cash into INDXcoin.”
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Cryptocurrency scams are a rising difficulty for retail buyers. In Could, an FBI-led investigation led to the arrest of a New Zealand-based man who allegedly stole $265 million price of digital property.
Authorities say the funds have been used to purchase luxurious vehicles and designer items.
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