Pastor Accused Of Defrauding Congregation With $3 Million Crypto Ponzi Scheme
23 January 2024 - 3:00PM
NEWSBTC
Denver-based internet pastor, Eli Regalado, is at the center of a
controversy surrounding an alleged crypto Ponzi scheme involving
INDX coin. The self-proclaimed spiritual leader has come
under scrutiny as Colorado’s securities regulator investigates his
deceptive practices, which reportedly resulted in over $3 million
in ill-gotten gains. Fortune magazine report shed light on the
matter, exposing Regalado’s questionable actions and shedding light
on the plight of the victims involved. Pastor Regalado’s Deceptive
Crypto Venture According to Colorado’s securities regulator,
Regalado, and his wife orchestrated a “small-scale swindle”,
targeting hundreds of individuals with promises of extraordinary
returns on their investments in INDX coin. Presenting his
appeals with biblical undertones, using terms like “sowing” and
“tithing,” Regalado convinced his online church followers that
purchasing the cryptocurrency would yield a tenfold increase in
their investments. However, the promised returns never
materialized, and investors lost their “hard-earned” money. To
compound matters, it is alleged that the Regalados diverted a
significant portion of the funds to finance personal expenses,
including home renovations and luxury purchases, further
exacerbating the victims’ financial losses. Related Reading: Crypto
Analyst Predicts Cardano Price Will Climb 2,000% To Reach $11
Despite the allegations and mounting legal troubles, Regalado chose
to address the accusations head-on by posting a 10-minute video on
the crypto project’s website. In the video, he attempts to deflect
responsibility, claiming that misappropriating funds was not solely
his decision, but rather a result of divine guidance for a home
remodeling project. Displaying a lack of understanding of
financial concepts, Regalado haphazardly employs buzzwords like
“leverage” and “liquidity” without demonstrating a clear
comprehension of their meaning. Furthermore, Regalado boasts
about the supposed success of the project, mentioning “$300 million
of coins sown before the exchange went live.” However, the Colorado
regulator clarifies that these coins have no value, primarily
because they could only be traded on the Kingdom Wealth Exchange,
an ill-functioning service operated by the Regalados themselves.
Colorado Authorities Take Action To Recover Funds According to
Fortune, the next steps in this ongoing investigation are expected
to involve the state of Colorado seizing any remaining funds and
returning them to the defrauded investors. Meanwhile,
Regalado’s video attempts to invoke divine intervention, predicting
that the INDX coin debacle will resolve itself miraculously through
divine intervention in the financial sector. Related Reading: Hold
On For Four Months: Analyst Predicts When Bitcoin Price Will Reach
New ATH According to CoinGecko data, the total crypto market cap
has declined over 4.6%, reaching as low as $1.51 trillion on
Monday. However, when compared to one year ago, the
cryptocurrency market has witnessed an impressive surge of
55.27%. At the forefront of the cryptocurrency market stands
Bitcoin (BTC), the pioneering digital currency that continues to
dominate the landscape. As of today, Bitcoin’s market cap stands at
an impressive $795 billion, accounting for a substantial 47.66% of
the total cryptocurrency market. Featured image from
Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com
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