Photo: Molly White's YouTube Channel
A Colorado pastor who's accused of scamming $1.3 million out of his followers through an alleged cryptocurrency scheme claims God told him to undergo the venture.
Eli Regalado, a Denver-based pastor, and his wife Kaitlyn Regalado are facing civil fraud charges from the state after launching a cryptocurrency called INDXcoin in April 2023, according to CNN. The couple sold INDXcoin to members of his Victorious Grace Church and other Christian communities in the metropolitan area through the Kingdom Wealth Exchange, an online crypto marketplace the pastor created.
A criminal complaint claims the Regalados pitched the cryptocurrency to over 300 investors using prayers and "quotes from the Bible," successfully raising over $3.2 million. Colorado state regulators called INDXcoin “essentially worthless" and accused the couple of using the funds to fund lavish purchases, including jewelry, vehicles, and vacations.
“[Eli] Regalado took advantage of the trust and faith of his own Christian community and … peddled outlandish promises of wealth to them when he sold them essentially worthless cryptocurrencies,” Tung Chang, the Securities Commissioner for Colorado, said in a statement.
In a video statement posted last week, Eli Regalado admitted to using the money raised from investors for home renovations and to pay back the IRS.
“The charges are that Kaitlyn and I pocketed 1.3 million dollars, and I just want to come out and say that those charges are true,” the pastor said. “A few hundred thousand dollars went to a home remodel that the Lord told us to do.”
He claims God urged him to go through with the cryptocurrency project and believes his faith will resolve the situation.
“Either I misheard God … or God is still not done with this project, and He is going to do a new thing,” Regalado stated. “What we’re praying for, and what we’re believing for still, is that God is going to do a miracle. God is going to work a miracle in the financial sector."
The couple is scheduled to appear in court on Monday (January 29).