‘The Lord told us to’: Denver pastor and wife found liable for $3.3 million crypto fraud scheme
Quick Take A judge found Denver pastor Eli Regalado and his wife, Kaitlyn Regalado, guilty of securities fraud over a worthless INDXcoin crypto scheme. The couple raised nearly $3.4 million from more than 300 investors, spending funds on a home remodel, luxury trips, and other personal expenses.
A Denver District Court ruled that INDXcoin, a cryptocurrency marketed and sold by local pastor Eli Regalado and his wife Kaitlyn, was a fraudulent scheme. Judge Heidi L. Kutcher found the Regalados and their firm, INDXcoin LLC, liable for securities fraud, entering a $3.34 million judgment against them.
The Regalados raised nearly $3.4 million between June 2022 and April 2023 from more than 300 individuals, largely from Denver's Christian community, promising low-risk, high-profit returns through their Kingdom Wealth Exchange platform. But the exchange collapsed within a day, leaving investors with nothing. Despite an auditor rating the project's security "0 out of 10," the couple continued marketing INDXcoin as a safe investment opportunity, according to the Colorado Division of Securities.
The court's decision, issued on Sept. 12 following an earlier three-day bench trial and announced in a release on Tuesday, resolves all outstanding issues in the civil case brought by Colorado Securities Commissioner Tung Chan, who initially filed the fraud charges in January 2024.
In a video response at the time, which garnered widespread international attention, Eli Regalado admitted to cashing out the funds, saying half the money they pocketed went to the IRS and the remainder was for a "home remodel the Lord told us to do." Evidence showed funds also went toward a Range Rover, jewelry, luxury ski and yachting trips, designer clothes, and even dental work.
Colorado regulators argued the Regalados exploited their religious ties and lack of crypto expertise to lure victims. Commissioner Chan described them as "21st century false prophets" who misused the promise of new technology to carry out an old scam, with the ruling a victory for small investors.
The civil ruling follows an earlier April decision confirming that INDXcoin qualified as a security under state law. Separately, in July, a Denver grand jury criminally indicted Eli and Kaitlyn Regalado on 40 counts regarding the alleged multi-million-dollar cryptocurrency scam.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
You may also like
Powell: Employment is weakening, inflation remains high, and no one is talking about rate hikes now
Powell pointed out that the U.S. labor market is cooling, with hiring and layoffs slowing down and the unemployment rate rising to 4.4%. Core PCE inflation remains above the 2% target, but service inflation is slowing. The Federal Reserve has cut interest rates by 25 basis points and started purchasing short-term Treasury bonds, emphasizing that the policy path needs to balance risks between employment and inflation. Future policies will be adjusted based on data. Summary generated by Mars AI. This summary is produced by the Mars AI model, and the accuracy and completeness of its generated content are still in the process of iterative improvement.
$RAVE TGE Countdown: When Clubbing Becomes an On-Chain Economic Activity, the True Web3 Breakthrough Moment Arrives
RaveDAO is rapidly growing into an open cultural ecosystem driven by entertainment, becoming a key infrastructure for Web3 to achieve real-world adoption and mainstream breakthrough.
A "hawkish rate cut" that's not so "hawkish," and balance sheet expansion that's "not QE"
The Federal Reserve has cut interest rates by another 25 basis points as expected, still projecting one rate cut next year, and has launched an RMP to purchase $40 billion in short-term bonds.
Trending news
MoreCrypto prices
More
