A great jury of Denver charged a pastor and his wife for 40 crime charges related to an alleged cryptocurrency program claimed to have been triggered by a divine intervention.
The jury charged Eligio “Eli” and Kaitlyn Regalado this month on accusations – notably racketeering, theft and fraud in securities – following an alleged plan between January 2022 and July 2023 where the duo requested nearly $ 3.4 million out of approximately 300 investors, according to the judicial archives.
The regalados were the founders of the victorious church of Grace online only and Indxcoin, a cryptocurrency on the religious theme which, according to the regulators of the State, was “essentially without value”.
The duo would have used their denominational relations to recruit investors while promising “exorbitant” yields on investments, said the Denver District Prosecutor’s Office in a press release. According to the indictment, only a small amount of the product was returned to the company and that the Regalados spent at least $ 1.3 million on personal expenses.
Some of these expenses have included renovation at home that the defendants said that “the Lord” told them to do a Range Rover and more than $ 90,000 in travel and entertainment costs. During all this time, Indxcoin has maintained a zero value and all the investors have lost all their money, according to the office of the district prosecutor.
The defendants also await the judgment of a trial of the civil court in May, where the commissioner of the securities of Colorado, Tung Chan, asked for a permanent injunction, a frost on the assets of the regalados and 3.4 million dollars on return.
“We allegedly alleged that Mr. Regalado took advantage of the confidence and the faith of his own Christian community and that he has stuck bizarre wealth promises when he sold them essentially without value,” ” The Bureau of the Commissioner of Securities of Colorado, Tung Chan, said in January.
The couple argued in court documents according to which Indxcoin was a “public service” to reach the denominational communities, and not a guarantee, so they did not require the granting of licenses or registration.
In a YouTube video published by Eli Regalado on July 4, 2024, Regalado claimed innocence throughout the process, calling Chan Crooked.
“You are a liar, liar. I hope that you will come back to the office after your vacation and you see that and you see what you have done,” said Régalado feverishly of Chan. “Shame on you. You are a crook.”
Regalado then said that Chan should buy an indxcoin so that she could see how the public service worked.
He also said they had dinner $ 290,000 to their own church and given $ 245,000 to other churches.
“It’s our church. Where are we going to the tithe?” He said. “This is where God had us in our mission.”
Now the Regalados are facing criminal charges.
“These accusations mark a major step in our work to keep the regalados responsible for their alleged crimes and to bring a measure of justice to the victims,” said district prosecutor John Walsh.
The couple should appear in court on Thursday.
Denver Gazette Marco Cummings journalist contributed to this report
