Pastor defrauded parishioners through crypto pyramid scheme

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed a complaint against a pastor of a Spanish church in Washington state, who allegedly promoted a fraudulent cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme among his parishioners.

According to the agency, from November 1, 2021, to December 31, 2023, Francie Obando Piniylo posed as the director of companies Solanofi, Solano Partners Ltd., and Solano Capital Investments, urging people to invest in earning through cryptocurrencies. In addition to trading, he promoted the staking of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, USDT, and Dogecoin. The pastor promised future clients monthly returns of up to 34.9%, as well as a 15% reward for referring acquaintances.

The pastor managed to attract $6 million from more than 1,500 people. In reality, no cryptocurrency trading took place; all the money was embezzled by the pastor. The CFTC is seeking restitution, the forfeiture of all illegally obtained funds, a trading ban, and further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act.

Previously, we reported that a deputy of the Krivodanovsky rural council in the Novosibirsk region is accused of illegal cryptocurrency mining.