A pastor based in Washington state has been indicted for scamming his congregation with a cryptocurrency investment.
Francier Obando Pinillo, 51, allegedly used his pastor position at his church to pressure his followers into investing in the so-called “Solano Fi” cryptocurrency, according to US prosecutors.
“Pinillo claimed the idea for Solano Fi had come to him in a dream and that it was a safe and guaranteed investment,” federal investigators said last week when he was arraigned.
The pastor led a Spanish-language church in Pasco, Washington, where he claimed his cryptocurrency project would lead to a monthly 34.9% return with no risk. He further promoted the cryptocurrency through remote seminars, a Facebook page, and a Telegram group known as Multimillionarios SolanoFi, which at one point grew to over 1,500 members.
However, the cryptocurrency project displayed sham investment gains while prohibiting investors from withdrawing funds. In addition, the Solano Fi app was never actually functional. Its real goal was to “personally enrich himself,” the indictment says.
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission adds that Pinillo raked in at least $5.9 million from the scam. Allegedly, Pinillo also convinced his investors to recruit others into buying the cryptocurrency, promising them additional rewards in return.
The scheme ran from November 2021 to at least October 2023. His investors repeatedly tried to withdraw their funds, but Pinillo came up with various excuses, such as app outages or telling them they had to wait until the cryptocurrency market improved. “The indictment further alleges Pinillo told investors they were required to send more money to ‘repair’ and upgrade the Solano Fi system so that investors could get their funds back,” US prosecutors add.
In November, a federal grand jury officially indicted Pinillo. He now faces up to 20 years in prison on 26 counts of fraud after allegedly targeting 1,515 consumers in the US.
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