Originally published on: December 11, 2024
A pastor in Washington state is facing allegations from the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for reportedly promoting a $6 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme to 1,500 individuals, some of whom were members of his congregation.
According to the CFTC, the pastor, Francier Obando Pinillo, is accused of fraud and misappropriation related to a multilevel marketing scheme involving high-performance crypto trading. The regulator claims that Pinillo, who served as a pastor at a Spanish church in Pasco, Washington, used social media to entice people by claiming to operate a trading platform that offered substantial rewards through the trading of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, and other cryptocurrencies.
From November 1, 2021, to December 31, 2023, Pinillo allegedly posed as the CEO of Solanofi, Solano Partners Ltd., and Solano Capital Investments, purporting to have created a “Solano ecosystem” where he traded various digital assets on behalf of clients. Customers were promised monthly profits of up to 34.9% through Solanofi, with additional services like a staking service for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Tether, and Dogecoin available through Solanofi 2.0.
However, the CFTC claims that these promises were false, and no actual trading or staking services were provided. Customers were shown fabricated account statements and encouraged to refer others to the platform in exchange for a 15% referral fee.
The regulator alleges that Pinillo targeted inexperienced individuals with little knowledge of digital assets, commodity interest trading, or staking. The CFTC accuses the pastor of abusing his position of trust to defraud his congregants and others, most of whom were Spanish-speaking.
In response to the allegations, the CFTC is seeking restitution for defrauded customers, forfeiture of funds obtained through the scheme, a trading ban, and a permanent injunction against Pinillo’s activities. The pastor’s legal representation has not been disclosed, and attempts to reach Pinillo for comment have been unsuccessful.
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