A Colorado pastor is accused of taking advantage of followers of his virtual church with a $1.3 million cryptocurrency fraud scheme, which he claimed in a video statement the Lord made him do.
Eli Regalado and his wife Kaitlyn created and marketed their cryptocurrency, known as INDXcoin, to members of the Christian community around the Denver area. According to a statement from the Colorado Division of Securities, Regalado claimed to people that “God told him directly that investors would become wealthy if they put money into INDXcoin.”
The alleged scheme raised nearly $3.2 million from over 300 individuals in less than a year. The Securities Division said $1.3 million of those funds went directly to the Regalados “to support their lavish lifestyle” and, in reality, INDXcoin was “practically worthless.”
In a video statement posted to the INDXcoin website, Regalado said the charges “are true” and “a few hundred thousand dollars went to a home remodel that the Lord told us to do.”