Bitcoin-gID_7.png@png” />
In summary
- The CFTC filed a lawsuit against Francier Obando Pinillo for a Ponzi scheme related to the fake Solanofi platform.
- Pinillo promised high returns through non-existent staking, deceiving 1,500 investors and sending funds to Colombia.
- He used his religious position in US churches to attract victims and justified losses by blaming the bankruptcy of FTX.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a lawsuit against Francier Obando Pinillo on Tuesday, accusing the former pastor of orchestrating a multi-level marketing scheme that allegedly took at least $5.9 million in cash and digital assets for a false “Solanofi platform”.
Promising investors that they could earn up to 34.9% monthly through an alleged leveraged staking platform, Pinillo allegedly targeted “unsophisticated investors,” including Spanish-speaking members of a church in Washington, according to a complaint filed by the CFTC. .
Staking refers to the process by which users commit digital assets to a network to help validate transactions—but the Commission alleged that no such activity took place.
Instead, Pinillo allegedly pocketed money from 1,500 unsuspecting investors, made false statements about Bitcoin trading on their behalf, and then claimed that investors’ funds were lost in the FTX bankruptcy. Of the money he raised, Pinillo allegedly sent $4 million in digital assets to 23 “private digital wallets” that prosecutors believe are in Colombia.
Resembling the name Solana, the fifth-largest Cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Pinillo’s Solanofi platform supposedly never existed. Still, it provided victims with a fake dashboard that showed them falsified account balances with supposed profits, which the CFTC alleged were crucial to maintaining Pinillo’s scheme, along with a Ponzi-like “referral fee” for attracting new investors. .
The regulator alleged that the former pastor’s scheme was not limited to Washington State. At a megachurch in Florida, Pinillo “gave a talk to parishioners about the importance of getting out of poverty and then proceeded to promote” the Solanofi platform to them, according to the complaint.
Pinillo “was able to reach a large number of potential clients, who believed him to be honest and trustworthy,” prosecutors wrote.
The case, in which a religious authority is accused of abusing his trust while promoting crypto technology, mirrored civil charges filed against a Colorado couple earlier this year. Promoting a token backed by nothing but the word of god, a lawsuit filed by Colorado’s securities regulator focused on pastor Eligio “Eli” Regalado, INDXcoin, and his Victorious Grace online church.
Meanwhile, Solana’s absurd memecoin Smoking Chicken Fish (SCF), which plans to build a physical church around its own religion, overcame controversy in September. Expelling their de facto leader, core team members accused “Pastor Kelby” of “rug pulls” and other unsavory behavior.
While Pinillo never had an account on FTX, the exchange that infamously crashed in 2022, he allegedly sent digital assets to a different trading platform, listed as “Exchange A.” Among the digital assets requested by the former pastor, Pinillo allegedly instructed investors to send Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Dogecoin, and Shiba Inu to wallets created and controlled by him.
At one point, the former pastor told investors that he would launch a token that embodied Christian values called “ShekkelCoin.” Prosecutors said the token was never released.
Whether it was FTX’s bankruptcy or technical problems with the Solanofi platform, Pinillo gave several excuses for investors’ inability to withdraw funds that prosecutors claimed were false. At his Washington church, a woman allegedly begged Pinillo for her money back to no avail.
“Never has a dark night defeated the power of a dawn,” the former pastor wrote in a Tuesday Facebook post. “When the storms get worse, it is because the calm is about to begin.”
Edited by Andrew Hayward.
Daily Debrief Newsletter
Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.
For the Latest Crypto News, Follow ©KeynoteUSA on Twitter Or Google News.
Disclaimer: Please note that the information provided on this page is for News purposes only and should not be considered investment or trading advice. ©Crypto.keynoteusa.com strongly recommends that you conduct independent research and/or consult with a qualified professional before making any investment decisions.
