Denver Pastor and Wife Face Charges in ‘God-Inspired' Cryptocurrency Scheme

New York Times

9 hours ago

A pastor in Denver who said that God told him to sell cryptocurrency to his followers was indicted this week on dozens of theft- and fraud-related charges, along with his wife, for selling a digital coin that prosecutors said had no real value.
The pastor, Eligio Regalado, and his wife, Kaitlyn Regalado, were indicted on Tuesday on 40 counts of theft, securities fraud and racketeering by a grand jury in Denver District Court. The couple created and sold a 'God-inspired' cryptocurrency called INDXcoin and raised nearly $3.4 million by marketing it to their Christian followers, the Denver District Attorney's Office said.
But that money was used to support the couple's lavish lifestyle, not their cryptocurrency business, prosecutors said.
Between January 2022 and July 2023, the couple took money from about 300 investors, who had been promised that their funds would be used to help pay for business operations and to sustain the liquidity of INDXcoin, as well as Kingdom Wealth Exchange, the cryptocurrency exchange where the coin was sold and traded, according to the indictment.
Of the $3.4 million that the couple raised through INDXcoin, prosecutors said, Mr. Regalado and his wife used at least $1.3 million for their personal benefit.
Rather than investing that money into their business, prosecutors said, Mr. Regalado and Ms. Regalado used it to pay for expenses that included home renovations, plane tickets, motel rooms and au pair services.
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