Eli Regalado, a pastor in the US has claimed that God told him to steal $1.3 million from his church members in a cryptocurrency scam.
Eli Regalado, a United State claims God told him to steal $1.3 million from his church members in a cryptocurrency scam.
Eli and his wife, Kaitlyn, were accused of breaking Colorado’s anti-fraud, licencing, and registration rules after they created and sold “INDXcoin,” a cryptocurrency, to Christians in the state.
According to a press statement from the state’s securities office, the couple allegedly told potential investors that Gof had told them that if they invested, they would become wealthy.
However, INDXcoin was “practically worthless” in reality and investors lost millions of dollars.
In a video statement posted on INDXcoin website, Pastor Eli admitted that the $1.3 million raised through cryptocurrency was squandered by he and his wife.
“The charges are that me and Kaitlyn pocketed $1.3m. I just wanted to come out and say those charges are true.
A few hundred thousand dollars went to a home remodel the Lord told us to do. We took God at his word and sold a cryptocurrency with no clear exit,” he said.
Regalado further stated that the pair continues to hope that God would “work a miracle in the financial sector”.
INDXcoin raised around $3.2 million from over 300 individuals between June 2022 and April 2023.
The Regalados spent at least $1.3 million, or more than half, on personal luxury items including jewellery, an au pair, and a large home repair project.
The Regalados also raised at least $290,000 for their online-only church, Victorious Grace Church, which has no physical location.