A federal grand jury has indicted a 51-year-old church pastor on 26 counts of fraud, after allegedly using his position to deceive victims into investing in a cryptocurrency investment scam.
That in itself would seem unusual, but what is even more bizarre is that the the pastor alleged to be behind the scheme claims that the inspiration for the project came to him in a dream.
Francier Obando Pinillo, of Miami, Florida, is alleged to have exploited his position at a Spanish-language church in Pasco, Washington, to persuade members of his congregation and others to invest in a cryptocurrency venture called “Solano Fi.”
Pinillo is alleged to have falsely claimed that his Solano Fi cryptocurrency scheme was risk-free, and promised a 34.9% monthly return.
Having recruited successfully within his church, Pinillo is said to have used social media platforms like Facebook and Telegram to reach a wider audience, allegedly offered a 15% commission for those who brought new clients into the scheme, and created an online portal through which investors could monitor their growing investments.
The US Department of Justice, however, claims that the web app interface was a facade, designed to display fake gains while preventing investors from withdrawing their funds.
Instead of investing the funds as promised, Pinillo is accused of diverting them to accounts that he controlled and using them for his own use. The indictment further alleges that he implemented a pyramid scheme, encouraging investors to recruit others with promises of additional returns for each new member.
In all, 1515 people are suspected of falling victim to the scam scheme which totalled at least US $5.9 million.
Inevitably investors in the scheme attempted to withdraw their funds, and Pinillo is alleged to have made a number of excuses (including marketing volatility and technical issues). Some investors have even claimed that they were pressured into contributing more funds in the belief that they were helping “repair” Solani Fi’s systems.
In many ways, the alleged fraud described by the Department of Justice has all the hallmarks of a “romance baiting” scam
(formerly known as “pig butchering”).
Although there is no romantic element in the charges faced by Pinillo, the allegations against him do suggest that victims of the scam were “seduced” by someone they had grown to trust because of their spiritual relationship with him, and because of his status within the church.
“Fraudulent investment schemes are not new, but cryptocurrency scams are a new way fraudsters take money from hardworking, honest people,” said US Attorney Vanessa Waldref. “Cryptocurrency fraudsters often quickly route funds to international accounts, which presents new challenges for law enforcement attempting to recover lost funds. My office and our partners at the FBI are committed to doing all we can to recover the proceeds of these frauds for victims and to hold the people running these scams accountable.”
If convicted, Pinillo could face up to 20 years in prison.