A federal grand jury for the Eastern District of Washington has charged Francier Obando Pinillo, a 51-year-old pastor, with 26 counts of fraud relating to a crypto scam.
Vanessa Ruth Waldref, a U.S. attorney for the Eastern District, first disclosed the development last year, announcing that the federal grand jury had returned its indictment against Pinillo.
Afterward, the authorities arraigned the pastor at a federal court in Washington yesterday.
Indictment Against Pastor Pinillo
Notably, the indictment accused Pinillio of orchestrating a crypto-related scam for two years, from November 2021 to October 2023.
Pinillio allegedly defrauded his church members of millions of dollars during this period. According to a press release, Pinillo, pastor of a Spanish-language church, Ministerio Apostolico Profetico Tiempos de Poder, lured his congregation into a crypto investment platform dubbed Solano Fi.
At the time, he claimed he received the investment idea in a divine dream while assuring investors about its safety.
In addition to his church members, the pastor recruited more investors to the platform through social media, including Facebook and Telegram. Specifically, his Telegram group alone had more than 1,500 members.
Investors Unable to Withdraw Funds
He promised investors 34.9% monthly returns through cryptocurrency staking with zero risk. Per the indictment, Pinillio claimed that investors could access and withdraw their funds through the online platform.
However, this malicious interface only allowed users to view their purported balances without permitting them to withdraw funds.
Instead of investing users’ funds as promised, the indictment alleged that Pinillo diverted victims’ funds for personal use. When victims confronted him about their inability to withdraw from Solano Fi, he offered excuses ranging from faulty websites to market crashes.
At some point, he told investors that they could withdraw their funds only when “they bring a new investor to buy out their account.” Furthermore, he convinced users to invest more funds in repairing the Solano Fi application so that they could withdraw their funds.
While the FBI conducted the investigation, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeremy J. Kelly and Dan Fruchter are prosecuting the case
US Attorney Reacts
Commenting on the development, U.S. Attorney Waldref said even though fraudulent schemes are common, the inception of crypto now gives bad actors new ways to defraud unsuspecting investors.
According to her, malicious actors can now divert funds to international accounts through crypto, making it difficult for law enforcement agencies to recover them. Meanwhile, Pinillo could bag a jail term of up to 20 years if found guilty.
While most people are usually inclined to follow the instructions of their religious heads, it is imperative to always conduct due diligence before committing funds to any project, including those relating to crypto assets.
Previously, The Crypto Basic shed light on how investors can spot and report crypto scams. The major factors to look out for in an investment offer include too-good-to-be-true deals, unverified smart contracts, lack of transparency, and high-pressure sales tactics.
