Denver Pastor Crypto Scheme – Source: alexkich / Getty
Denver Pastor Eligio Regalado was charged with fraud after his Crypto coin robbed Christians out of $1.3 million.
Cryptocurrency scams aren’t new but usually, they always involve some influencer looking to make a quick buck of their gullible fan base. In some instances, bigger celebrities even fall victim to the scam under the guise of getting paid for a simple social media post. According to People, the scams have made their way to religious circles thanks to Denver pastor Eligio Regalado. On January 17 Regalado and his wife were charged by the Colorado Attorney General for their pump and dump scheme.
His scheme was simple he allegedly created a cryptocurrency named “INDXcoin” worth absolutely nothing and told Christians if they invested, blessings would come. Allegedly “god told him people would become wealthy” was his signature catchphrase.
To make matters worse he is not denying any of the allegations according to NBC News.
“We took God at his word and sold a cryptocurrency with no clear exit,” Regalado in his video address Friday. “What we’re believing for still is that God is going to do a miracle. God is going to work a miracle in the financial sector.”
This isn’t his first run-in with the law as Regalado allegedly did time in prison for “boosting cars” before becoming a pastor. Regalado and his wife are the only employees of the online-only church Victorious Grace Church.
Furthermore, in one of his update videos, he even broke down how he spent the money he stole.
“Out of the $1.3 [million], half a million dollars went to the IRS [Internal Revenue Services], and a few hundred thousand dollars went to a home remodel the Lord told us to do,” Regalado said in the video.
His defense is the lord led him every step of the way from creating the Kingdom Wealth Exchange and INDXcoin. Hopefully, in court, we find out how he and the lord settled on remodeling his home with the money.
You can watch one of his pitches in the video below.