- Denver pastor and spouse accused of defrauding over 300 individuals in a crypto-scam
- Couple faces expenses for his or her deceptive INDXcoin scheme, exploiting church group belief
A pastor and his spouse from Denver, Colorado, have discovered themselves on the heart of a major controversy. On 16 January, the Colorado Securities Commissioner, Tung Chan, filed civil fraud charges towards Eligio (Eli) and Kaitlyn Regalado.
Core of the crypto-scam
The grievance said that from June 2022 to April 2023, the Regalados raised almost $3.2 million from over 300 people by way of their cryptocurrency scheme. Tung Chan has alleged violations of the Colorado Securities Act’s anti-fraud, licensing, and registration provisions.
On the heart of this rip-off was a digital foreign money they named “INDXcoin.” It additionally concerned a Kingdom Wealth Alternate (KWE). The Regalados established, managed, and operated this on-line cryptocurrency change platform, the place they made this digital foreign money out there.
Supply: INDXcoin
The Lord informed us to do
The couple marketed INDXcoin to members of the Christian group. Their displays reportedly included prayer and biblical quotes. Additionally they claimed to be supporting charitable causes comparable to serving to widows and orphans. Moreover, Eli Regalado claimed that divine steerage assured him that buyers would turn into rich.
Nonetheless, this deceit took a dramatic flip when the pastor admitted in a web-based video assertion to pocketing $1.3 million. He said,
“However out of that $1.3 million, half of it went to the IRS, and $200,000 went to a house rework that the Lord informed us to do.”
Nonetheless, the state’s investigation paints a extra troubling image of the couple’s expenditures, which included luxurious objects and private indulgences like a luxurious SUV, jewelry, beauty dentistry, boat leases, and snowmobile adventures.
Church leaders turned crypto-entrepreneurs
The Regalados ran the online-only Victorious Grace Church, however their enterprise into cryptocurrency was marked by inexperience and recklessness. A 3rd-party auditor’s report described their INDXcoin code as unsafe, unsecured, and riddled with severe technical issues.
Regardless of this, the couple continued to advertise INDXcoin as a low-risk, high-profit funding. The Colorado Securities Commissioner emphasised the gravity of the scenario, stating,
“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 primarily nugatory cryptocurrencies.”
The couple’s actions have left a path of disillusioned buyers. INDXcoin has turned out to be illiquid and virtually nugatory.
Because the case unfolds, the Colorado Legal professional Normal’s Workplace is in search of preliminary and injunctive aid, damages for buyers, and a constructive belief on the Defendants’ property. The Regalados are scheduled to look in courtroom on 29 January 2024.