Pastor who saw cryptocurrency scam in a ‘dream’ charged with fraud

A pastor from Pasco, Washington, has been indicted with 26 counts of fraud for running a cryptocurrency scam between November 2021 and October 2023.
According to the United States Department of Justice, 51-year-old Francier Obando Pinillo used his position as a pastor to persuade members of his congregation and others to invest their money in a cryptocurrency investment business known as ‘Solano Fi’.
Pinillo claims that the idea for Solano Fi came to him in a dream.
The pastor tried to recruit investors via social media, including a Solano Fi Facebook page and a Telegram group known as Multimillionarios SolanoFi, which had over 1,500 members. He promised his investors a monthly return of 34.9%, with zero risk.
Pinillo explained that investors could access, view, and withdraw their money from Solano Fi through an online interface. However, the online application showed fake balances and investment returns, with no possibility of withdrawing funds.
Whenever clients tried to remove their assets, Pinillo always had an excuse why this couldn’t be done: the cryptocurrency market had to improve, the application was down, or victims first had to bring in a new investor to ‘buy out’ their account. Furthermore, the pastor tried to convince investors they had to send more money in order to ‘repair’ and upgrade the Solano Fi system so they could get their money back.
Additionally, the pastor allegedly defrauded his victims into making cryptocurrency transfers to accounts he designated. In reality, he converted the victims’ funds to himself and his co-conspirators.
According to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Pinillo has targeted at least 1,515 customers in the United States, including members of his congregation. His cryptocurrency scheme was worth at least $5.9 million.
“Fraudulent investment schemes are not new, but cryptocurrency scams are a new way fraudsters take money from hardworking, honest people,” Venassa Waldref, US Attorney, said in a statement.
If found guilty, Pinillo could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.
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