Pastor and wife convicted of $3,3 million cryptocurrency fraud

• Denver Couple Defrauded Investors with INDXcoin
• Colorado court imposes $3,34 million fine
• Regulators denounce exploitation of faith in crypto scheme

A Denver court has ruled that INDXcoin, the cryptocurrency created and promoted by Pastor Eli Regalado and his wife, Kaitlyn, was nothing more than a fraudulent scheme. Judge Heidi L. Kutcher found the couple and their company, INDXcoin LLC, guilty of securities fraud, imposing a $3,34 million sentence.

Between June 2022 and April 2023, the Regalados raised nearly $3,4 million from over 300 investors, mostly from the local Christian community, through the Kingdom Wealth Exchange platform. The exchange went bankrupt in just one day, leaving investors with no return. Even after an audit gave the project a "0 out of 10" rating, the couple continued to promote INDXcoin as a safe investment.

The case was handled by the Colorado Securities Division, which filed a civil lawsuit in January 2024. The final decision, announced On September 12, the civil disputes were settled. Securities and Exchange Commissioner Tung Chan called the Regalados "XNUMXst-century false prophets" and emphasized that they exploited both their victims' faith and lack of cryptocurrency knowledge.

Investigations revealed that the funds raised were not allocated to project development, but rather to personal expenses, such as luxury travel, designer clothing, a Range Rover, jewelry, ski trips, a yacht, and even dental work. In a previous response, Eli Regalado admitted in a video that half of the money went to the Federal Revenue Service and the rest to renovations, saying it was something "the Lord told us to do."

The civil lawsuit follows a previous ruling in April, which confirmed that INDXcoin qualified as a security. In parallel, in July, a Denver grand jury indicted the couple on 40 counts related to the multimillion-dollar scheme.

The conviction represents a victory for Colorado regulators, who are seeking to strengthen accountability in cryptocurrency fraud cases, especially when they combine deceptive financial promises with the exploitation of religious ties.