Pastor indicted for multi-million dollar crypto grift: DOJ

A 51-year-old Miami resident and pastor is accused of using his pulpit to swindle unsuspecting souls into a cryptocurrency scam. According to a Jan. 8 release from the U.S. Department of Justice, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Washington charged Francier Obando Pinillo with 26 counts of fraud, alleging he masterminded a cryptocurrency scheme that drained millions from investors between November 2021 and October 2023. Pinillo’s alleged hustle, dubbed “Solano Fi,” wasn’t your average crypto hustle. It reportedly came to him in a “dream.” As the pastor of Ministerio Apostólico Profético Tiempos de Poder, a Spanish-language church in Pasco, Washington, Pinillo assured his congregation and other potential investors that Solano Fi was a “safe and guaranteed investment.” His promise: a monthly return of 34.9%. To sweeten the deal, Pinillo allegedly launched a social media blitz, complete with a Solano Fi Facebook page and a Telegram group titled “Multimillionarios SolanoFi,” which boasted more than 1,500 members. You might also like: Crypto expert issues a warning on Bitcoin’s momentum, says the bullish trend depends on … Shady Solano Fi According to prosecutors, the only thing multiplying in Solano Fi was Pinillo’s personal wealth. Instead of staking investors’ funds as promised, the indictment alleges he funneled their money into accounts controlled by himself and his co-schemers. Pinillo also offered 15% referral bonuses to encourage others to join Solano Fi, creating a Ponzi-like structure and using funds from new investors to pay fictitious profits to earlier participants. Also, the online platform he touted supposedly allowed investors to view their growing riches. In reality, the online application “was actually designed to allow investors to see fraudulent purported balances and supposed investment gains but did not permit the investors to withdraw funds,” the DOJ statement reads. Things got even more creative when investors started asking for their money back. Pinillo blamed the faulty website or the bearish cryptocurrency market. In some instances, he refused to return investments unless the victim brought in a new investor to “buy out” their account. “Fraudulent investment schemes are not new, but cryptocurrency scams are a new way fraudsters take money from hardworking, honest people,” U.S. Attorney Vanessa Waldref said. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dan Fruchter and Jeremy J. Kelley, with the FBI leading the investigation. As for Pinillo, he was arraigned in the U.S. District Court in Richland, Washington, where he’ll need more than faith to navigate his legal battles. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission previously filed a civil enforcement action against Pinillo, who targeted primarily Spanish-speaking members of the pastor’s church in Pasco, Washington. Read more: Traders favor SOL, XRP and Catzilla — analysts predict a 6,500% surge is imminent