Originally published on: December 11, 2024
The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has taken legal action against a pastor in Washington state, alleging that he promoted a crypto Ponzi scheme worth $6 million to around 1,500 individuals, including members of his church.
According to the CFTC, the pastor, Francier Obando Pinillo, is facing charges of fraud and misappropriation as part of a multilevel marketing scheme involving cryptocurrencies.
In the complaint filed on Dec. 9 in a federal court in Spokane, the CFTC claims that Pinillo, who leads a Spanish church in Pasco, Washington, used social media to promote a trading platform that offered high returns through crypto trading.
The pastor allegedly posed as the CEO of several entities, including Solanofi, Solano Partners Ltd., and Solano Capital Investments, which supposedly operated within a “Solano ecosystem” trading Bitcoin, Ether, Tether, and other cryptocurrencies on behalf of clients.
Customers were promised monthly profits of up to 34.9% through the Solanofi platform, which included a staking service for various cryptocurrencies to guarantee profits. However, the CFTC alleges that no trading or staking service actually existed, and all customer assets were misappropriated.
The regulator accuses Pinillo of targeting inexperienced customers and leveraging his position as a pastor to solicit investments primarily in Spanish, abusing the trust placed in him by congregants.
The CFTC is seeking restitution for defrauded customers, the forfeiture of funds obtained through the scheme, a trading ban for Pinillo, and a permanent injunction.
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