by A Denver pastor who said God told him to sell cryptocurrencies that couldn’t be redeemed faces civil charges, along with his wife, for trading a digital currency that prosecutors said was “virtually worthless” and using the profits to support a “luxurious investment.” Lifestyle.”
The pastor, Eligio Regalado, and his wife, Kaitlyn Regalado, were charged Thursday in a civil lawsuit filed in Denver District Court by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, Colorado Securities Division. said in a statement. The agency said the pair created, marketed and sold a cryptocurrency they called INDXcoin through a cryptocurrency exchange, which they also ran.
Prosecutors said the couple, who had no experience in cryptocurrency exchanges, marketed INDXcoin to Christians in Denver and raised nearly $3.2 million from more than 300 people who bought it from June 2022 to April 2023. Regalado then and his wife used the money for themselves, the Colorado Division of Securities said.
Regalado and Regalado did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday. It was unclear if they had a lawyer.
In a video that addresses the complaint Last week, Regalado said he didn’t want investors to get “angry” at prosecutors.
“They have to do this,” he said. “I mean, if you think about this: we sold a cryptocurrency without a clear exit. We did it. “We took God’s word and sold a cryptocurrency with no clear way out.”
Regalado said that due to problems with the cryptocurrency exchange, investors were unable to withdraw their money.
Regalado also said in the video that he got into the cryptocurrency business because “the Lord” told him to. He said that God had once appeared to him in a dream and asked him to do it, and he agreed to let him and his wife spend the funds on “a house renovation that the Lord told us to do.”
Regalado said he still hoped investors could get their money back and that he believed “God is going to work a miracle in the financial sector.”
Commissioner Tung Chan of the Colorado Securities Division said in a statement that “Mr. Regalado took advantage of the trust and faith of his own Christian community.”
“He sold them extravagant promises of wealth when he sold them essentially worthless cryptocurrencies,” Ms Chan said.
The Colorado Attorney General’s Office declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation.
Regalado led Victorious Grace Church, according to records. The church’s website was taken down Tuesday. Regalado also said in the video that in 2021 “the Lord” told him and his wife to step away from a marketing company they ran to start something new.
Of the more than $3 million the couple had raised through INDXcoin, Regalado said he and his wife pocketed around $1.4 million. About $500,000 of the money went to the Internal Revenue Service and “a few hundred thousand dollars” went toward remodeling the home.
About nine months ago, Regalado said, the company “started to fall apart,” adding that he didn’t know what he was doing.
“One of two things have happened,” Mr. Regalado said, “one: either I misheard God and each of you who prayed and entered, you too, or two: God is not done with this project yet and is leaving.” . do something new.”
Prosecutors said they were seeking damages to help restore losses to investors. Regalado said in the video that the couple planned to defend their case and that their “goal” was for the investors to recover some of the money.
