Pastor pockets $1.3M on crypto scheme targeting Christians
Screenshot of Eligio "Eli" Regalado from his "lawsuit response" video posted online. (INDXCoin Community Website)
NEW YORK - A Colorado pastor has admitted to pocketing $1.3 million that he and his wife collected through what authorities call a "cryptocurrency fraud scheme."
Eligio "Eli" Regalado and Kaitlyn Regalado of Denver, INDXcoin, LLC, Kingdom Wealth Exchange LLC "created, marketed and sold a cryptocurrency, known as the ‘INDXcoin’ to members of the Christian community," the state's securities commissioner said in a statement.
The Colorado Attorney General's Office filed a complaint in Denver District Court alleging that from June 2022 to April 2023, INDXcoin raised nearly $3.2 million from more than 300 individuals.
The pastor said in a video statement posted online as "lawsuit response" that half a million of the $1.3 million went to the Internal Revenue Service, with a few hundred thousand dollars going to a "home remodel that the Lord told us to do."
The pastor alleges the money collected is deemed "worthless" by the state because "there is no exit for people who have bought." He said people have been unable to take money out because the exchange "failed."
The Regalados run the online-only Victorious Grace Church, according to media outlet BusinessDen, which combed through court records. After subpoenaing the couple's bank records, Tung Chan, the state's securities commissioner, alleges in the civil fraud lawsuit that the money was used on a luxury SUV, jewelry, luxury handbags, cosmetic dentistry, boat rentals and snowmobile adventures, their home remodel and an au pair.
"We allege that Mr. Regalado took advantage of the trust and faith of his own Christian community and that he peddled outlandish promises of wealth to them when he sold them essentially worthless cryptocurrencies," Commissioner Chan said in the news release. "New coins and new exchanges are easy to create with open source code. We want to remind consumers to be very skeptical."