Місто Паско, штат Вашингтон / pasco-wa.gov
The US Department of Justice accused a pastor from Washington state of fraud. He was selling his own cryptocurrency, Solano Fi, to parishioners promising 34.9% annual profit “with no risk.”
Francis Obando Pinillo, a former pastor of a church in Pasco, Washington, was charged with 26 counts of fraud. The priest sold the cryptocurrency personally and on social media from 2021 to 2023. And if you already saw the news about a pastor selling his own cryptocurrency on ITC.ua a year ago, that was a different church figure.
Pinillo claimed that the idea for the cryptocurrency “came to him in a dream.” He directed investments to his own accounts and those of other conspiracy participants. The so-called investors were shown falsified balances and earnings through a mobile application.
The Justice Department notes that victims were instructed to share the investment scam with others. When suspicions arose, Pinillo offered the deceived to send him even more money, supposedly to fix the Solano Fi system. Or he offered them to exit the criminal scheme without losses by bringing another person into it.
In the fraud, Pinillo is accused by over a thousand believers from his church and other deceived, with a total of about 1500 victims. The total amount of losses amounts to $5.9 million. If found guilty, the pastor could face up to 20 years in prison.
Sources: Bleeping Computer, PC World