A Denver online pastor and his wife are facing serious legal trouble after being indicted on Tuesday for orchestrating a cryptocurrency scheme that defrauded their religious community out of over $3 million.
Eli Regalado and his wife, Kaitlyn, were indicted with 40 criminal counts in what Denver District Attorney John Walsh called a “multi-million-dollar cryptocurrency scam.” Prosecutors say the couple used their influence within faith-based circles to lure investors into purchasing INDXcoin, a digital token they created and sold via their Kingdom Wealth Exchange platform.
The indictment alleges that between January 2022 and July 2023, the Regalados raised nearly $3.4 million from more than 300 investors, promising divine-backed financial returns. Instead, authorities say at least $1.3 million was diverted for personal expenses, including a home renovation they allegedly claimed was instructed by God.
Colorado Securities Commissioner Tung Chan condemned the scheme, stating that Regalado “took advantage of the trust and faith of his own Christian community, peddling outlandish promises of wealth when he sold them essentially worthless cryptocurrencies.”
According to prosecutors, INDXcoin maintained no real market value, leaving all investors with total losses.
“These charges mark a major step forward in our work to hold the Regalados accountable for their alleged crimes and to bring a measure of justice to the victims,” DA Walsh said in a press release, commending the collaborative investigation by his office, the Colorado Division of Securities, and the state Attorney General’s office.
This indictment comes six months after the couple was first charged with fraud for marketing the INDXcoin token to their followers. Their case adds to growing concerns about cryptocurrency scams targeting vulnerable retail investors, including a former officer of the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) sentenced to five and a half years in prison for stealing 50 Bitcoin, now worth approximately $5.9 million, that had been confiscated from Silk Road 2.0 co-founder Thomas White.
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