A Christian pastor says he’s banking on a miracle after being accused of pocketing $1.3 million in a cryptocurrency scheme, claiming “the Lord told us to.”
The Colorado Division of Securities says Eli Regalado and his wife Kaitlyn marketed their cryptocurrency, INDXcoin, to Christian communities in Denver, claiming “God told him directly that investors would become wealthy if they put money into INDXcoin.”
The state says: “The Regalados had no experience in cryptocurrency which was clear when a third-party auditor’s report allegedly described their INDXcoin code as unsafe, unsecure and riddled with serious technical problems. Despite that report, the Regalados allegedly continued to promote the INDXcoin as a low risk, high profit investment.”
The complaint alleges that in reality, the INDXcoin was illiquid and practically worthless, investors lost millions, and defendants dissipated investor funds to support their lavish lifestyle.
“We allege that Mr. Regalado took advantage of the trust and faith of his own Christian community and that he peddled outlandish promises of wealth to them when he sold them essentially worthless cryptocurrencies,” said Colorado Securities Commissioner Tung Chan.
“New coins and new exchanges are easy to create with open source code. We want to remind consumers to be very skeptical.”
“They specifically went out to the Christian community, and there’s a lot of references to scripture and faith. He cloaks himself in that to get people to give their money to him,” said Chan. “That’s really heartbreaking for the people who trusted him.”
In a video statement to followers posted last week, Eli Regalado said the allegations they pocketed $1.3 million “are true.”
“Out of the $1.3 [million], half a million dollars went to the IRS, and a few hundred thousand dollars went to a home remodel the Lord told us to do,” he said.
According to the complaint, the couple also allegedly spent investors’ funds on a Range Rover, luxury handbags, jewelry, an au pair, boat rentals and snowmobile adventures.
“We took God at His word and sold a cryptocurrency with no clear exit,” Regalado said in his video Friday. “What we’re believing for still is that God is going to do a miracle. God is going to work a miracle in the financial sector.”
NBC News reported: “Regalado was 22 and serving a prison sentence for ‘boosting cars’ when his faith called him to become a pastor 20 years ago, he said in a YouTube live podcast. He began preaching for the online-only Victorious Grace Church, where he and his wife are listed as the only two employees.”
Eli Regalado, his wife and his three companies face charges of securities fraud, unlicensed broker-dealer activity, selling unregistered securities and imposition of constructive trust.
Reacting to the video, the Regalados had voices of support, including:
“What a crazy ride Eli. I can’t imagine what you guys are going through. Prayers going up.”
“Good job coming forward. Can’t gossip about rumors when everyone already knows the truth. And, yes, God is not done and He will do a new thing. Hang in there, stay strong, and lean on each other.”
But one commenter with a username of “God” indicated: “Yes, I work in mysterious ways. This Regalado schmuck though, not so mysterious at all. Mystery solved, annnnnd … guilty.”
Follow Joe on Twitter @JoeKovacsNews
IMPORTANT NOTE TO WND READERS: For America’s ruling elites, nothing is more precious, wonderful and life-giving to their great cause than the Jan. 6, 2021 “insurrection” at the U.S. Capitol. It’s irrelevant that the events didn’t come remotely close to constituting an actual “insurrection,” or that both police and over 200 undercover FBI assets provoked the riot – which Tucker Carlson calls a “set-up.” Yet Vice President Kamala Harris still insists the minor riot was just as horrific as the 9/11 terror attacks and Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.
WHY are the elites doing this?
It’s not just because convicting, imprisoning, torturing and destroying the lives of hundreds of Trump supporters is meant to terrify and intimidate millions of Americans into submission. And it’s not just because activist judges and bureaucrats in over 30 states are absurdly trying to keep Trump off their state’s election ballots by citing the 14th Amendment’s prohibition against anyone who “engaged in insurrection” from holding elective office.
It’s because the elites’ destruction of America is so rapid, horrendous and obvious that they feel compelled to turn their opponents into monsters – or lose power at the next election. But that doesn’t mean just calling conservatives and Christians “racists,” “white supremacists,” “radical extremists” and “domestic terrorists” as they do continually. They know much more is needed.
Question: What if, far from being horrified by a half-baked riot they absurdly claim is worse than any domestic disturbance since the Civil War, the left actually LOVES the idea of violence on the right – the worse the better – since it perfectly serves their agenda? Increasingly, all the evidence strongly suggests today’s power-mad leftist elites not only intend to intimidate and discredit their political opponents by calling them terrorists, they mean to provoke actual violence.
The secret strategies and shocking tactics of today’s ascendant far-left elites are exposed as perhaps never before in the January issue of WND’s critically acclaimed monthly Whistleblower magazine, headlined “INCITING VIOLENCE: DEMS’ SECRET STRATEGY FOR STAYING IN POWER.”
WHISTLEBLOWER is available in both the popular print edition and a state-of-the-art digital version, either single issues or discounted annual subscriptions.
For 25 years, WND has boldly brought you the news that really matters. If you appreciate our Christian journalists and their uniquely truthful reporting and analysis, please help us by becoming a WND Insider!
Content created by the WND News Center is available for re-publication without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].
SUPPORT TRUTHFUL JOURNALISM. MAKE A DONATION TO THE NONPROFIT WND NEWS CENTER. THANK YOU!
This article was originally published by the WND News Center.
This post originally appeared on WND News Center.
