Pastor’s ‘dream’ crypto scheme allegedly a multi-million dollar scam

A federal grand jury has indicted a 51-year-old church pastor on 26 counts of fraud after allegedly using his position to defraud victims into investing in a cryptocurrency investment scam.

This in itself would seem unusual, but what’s even weirder is that the pastor supposedly behind the plan claims that the inspiration for the project came to him in a dream.

It is alleged that Francier Obando Pinillo of Miami, Florida, used his position in a Spanish-speaking church in Pasco, Washington, to persuade members of his congregation and others to invest in a cryptocurrency venture called “Solano Fi.”

It is alleged that Pinillo falsely claimed that his Solano Fi cryptocurrency program was risk-free and promised a 34.9% monthly return.

After successfully recruiting at his church, Pinillo is said to have used social media platforms such as Facebook and Telegram to reach a wider audience, allegedly offered a 15% commission to those who brought new clients to the program, and created an online portal for through which investors could monitor their growing investments.

However, the US Department of Justice says the online application’s interface was a facade designed to display false profits while preventing investors from withdrawing their funds.

Instead of investing the funds as promised, Pinillo is accused of diverting them to accounts he controlled and using them for his own use. The indictment further alleged that he implemented a pyramid scheme by encouraging investors to recruit others by promising additional profits for each new member.

In total, there are 1,515 suspects who fell victim to fraud for a total amount of at least USD 5.9 million.

Investors in the scheme inevitably tried to withdraw their funds, and Pinillo allegedly gave a number of excuses (including marketing volatility and technical problems). Some investors even claimed that they were pressured to contribute more funds in the belief that they were helping to “fix” Solani Fi’s systems.

In many respects, the alleged fraud described by the Department of Justice has all the hallmarks of a “romantic attraction” scam.
(formerly known as “pig robbery”).

Although there is no romantic element to the allegations against Pinillo, the allegations against him suggest that the fraud victims were “seduced” by someone they trusted because of their spiritual connection to him and because of his status in society. church.

“Fraudulent investment schemes are nothing new, but cryptocurrency scams are a new way for fraudsters to extract money from hard-working, honest people,” said U.S. Attorney Vanessa Waldref. “Cryptocurrency fraudsters often quickly divert funds to international accounts, creating new challenges for law enforcement to recover lost funds. My office and our partners at the FBI are committed to making every effort to recover the victims of these frauds and bring these people to justice. these frauds are subject to liability.”

If convicted, Pinillo could face up to 20 years in prison.