A pastor from Washington state, Francier Obando Pinillo, has been charged with 26 counts of fraud for allegedly deceiving over 1,500 people through a crypto scheme called Solano Fi.
In a January 9 statement, prosecutors said that the pastor used his role in the church to persuade members of his congregation to invest in the venture.
The pastor reportedly told investors that the idea for Solano Fi came to him in a dream and promoted it as a risk-free investment.
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According to prosecutors, he promised returns of up to 35% per month through trading cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin
However, participants found they couldn’t access their funds and were often shown fake account balances on the Solano Fi website.
Some investors were told they had to wait for the crypto market to improve before withdrawing their money. Others were pressured to recruit new participants to “buy out” their accounts before any funds could be released.
In December 2024, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) also filed a lawsuit, accusing the pastor of misusing $6 million from investors.
The Department of Justice alleges that he used Facebook and a Telegram group called “Multimillionarios SolanoFi” to attract members, many of whom attended his Spanish-language church in Pasco, Washington.
Prosecutors say the pastor and his associates pocketed the money while misleading investors with excuses.
Meanwhile, authorities in Thailand recently confiscated 996 Bitcoin mining devices over a suspected $2.88 million electricity theft. How did the case go? Read the full story.
