A Colorado Pastor Who Was Charged With A $3 Million Crypto Fraud Claims That "The Lord Told Us" To Do It
A Colorado pastor has admitted to pocketing $1.3 million that he and his wife collected through what authorities call a "cryptocurrency fraud scheme."
Eligio "Eli" Regalado and Kaitlyn Regalado of Denver, INDXcoin, LLC, Kingdom Wealth Exchange LLC "created, marketed and sold a cryptocurrency, known as the ‘INDXcoin’ to members of the Christian community," the state's securities commissioner said in a statement.
The Colorado Attorney General's Office filed a complaint in Denver District Court alleging that from June 2022 to April 2023, INDXcoin raised nearly $3.2 million from more than 300 individuals.
The pastor said in a video statement posted online as "lawsuit response" that half a million of the $1.3 million went to the Internal Revenue Service, with a few hundred thousand dollars going to a "home remodel that the Lord told us to do."
The pastor alleges the money collected is deemed "worthless" by the state because "there is no exit for people who have bought." He said people have been unable to take money out because the exchange "failed."
What a story here coming out of Colorado. First thing's first: I know Colorado is beautiful, but what a backdrop to admit you committed some crypto fraud. Bold move to just say right off the bat "The charges are that Kaitlyn and I pocketed $1.3 million, and I just want to come out and say those charges are true". Does the ole "home remodel that the Lord told us to do" method work with the IRS?
I know that pastor felt like Matt LaFleur describing his kicker when he was asking for money from his church for a crypto exchange that was doomed to fail from the beginning:
Gotta respect this guy staying committed to the bit the entire way through. The government came knocking and he stayed strong in his belief, whatever that belief may or may not be. Him saying "there's no exit for people that bought" like it's not a bad thing is peak comedy too. Is it my fault or God's that the exchange failed and you're out your millions in investment? Nope, but this backdrop and mansion renovation got an exit and God damn is it glorious looking *pans to his view of the water*.
Regardless of this guy's intentions or if he's guilty or not, I'm almost at the point with crypto that I think if you got scammed you deserve it. I don't want to victim shame, but investing in a currency exchange called "INDXcoin" from your local pastor and then being surprised when it goes south has to be your fault. That's the thing with these crypto investments. A fool and his money are soon parted.. every. single. time. Clockwork.