A pastor and his wife have both been charged with fraud for allegedly creating a cryptocurrency, offering it to Christian communities and using the profits to fund their “lavish lifestyle,” according to authorities.
Eli Regalado, a pastor in Denver, Colorado, and his wife, Kaitlyn Regalado, “created, marketed and sold a cryptocurrency known as ‘INDXcoin’ to members of the Christian community,” according to a release from the Division of Colorado Securities. “INDXcoin was also offered through the Kingdom Wealth Exchange (KWE), an online cryptocurrency exchange that they created, controlled and operated.”
Colorado Securities Commissioner Tung Chan on Thursday filed civil fraud charges against Eligio (Eli) and Kaitlyn Regalado of Denver, as well as the companies they allegedly used to sell the coins, for alleged violations of antitrust provisions. -Colorado fraud, licensing and registration. Securities Act.
“According to the complaint filed by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, Colorado Securities Division investigators discovered that between June 2022 and April 2023, INDXcoin raised nearly $3.2 million from more than 300 people,” authorities said. “The complaint alleges that Regalado targeted Christian communities in Denver and claimed that God told him directly that investors would become rich if they invested in INDXcoin.”
Eli Regalado, a pastor, and his wife who created a cryptocurrency targeting Christian communities and using the money to fund their “lavish lifestyle” have been charged with fraud, Colorado authorities said.
INDXcoin
The Colorado Division of Securities says the Regalados had no experience with cryptocurrency “which was clear when a report from a third-party auditor allegedly described their INDXcoin code as dangerous, insecure and riddled with serious technical issues”.
The Regalados, however, continued to promote INDXcoin as a low-risk, high-profit investment even though, according to the complaint filed against them, “INDXcoin was illiquid and virtually worthless” as their investors lost millions of dollars. dollars and the Regalados dissipated their investors. funds to support their “lavish lifestyle”.
“We allege that Mr. Regalado took advantage of the trust and faith of his own Christian community and made far-fetched promises of wealth to them by selling them essentially worthless cryptocurrencies,” Commissioner Chan said . “New coins and exchanges are easy to create with open source code. We want to remind consumers to be very skeptical.
The action, filed in Denver District Court, seeks preliminary and injunctive relief, damages for investors and the establishment of a constructive trust over the defendants’ property.
The investigation into Regalado’s transactions is currently ongoing and authorities urge anyone who invested with INDXCoin or any of Regalado’s other entities to contact the Colorado Division of Securities at dora_SecuritiesWebsite@state.co.us or at 303-894-2320.
