Colorado pastor denies allegations of million-dollar crypto fraud

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Colorado pastor Eligo Regalado and his wife Kaitlyn have denied allegations of defrauding their community members of millions through the sale of a cryptocurrency that state securities regulators consider “essentially worthless.”

Eligo addressed the allegations in a video statement released on Friday.

“The reason that [Colorado] is saying that it’s worthless is because there is no exit for people who have bought,” he said.

He acknowledged that cryptocurrency investors attempting to withdraw funds had been unsuccessful.

“We launched an exchange. The exchange technology failed. Things went downhill, and from that point forward, we’ve just been waiting on the Lord literally for a miracle,” said Eligo

This couple faces charges of deceiving hundreds of local Christians in a multimillion-dollar cryptocurrency scheme. Prosecutors allege that the Regalados fraudulently raised over $3 million by selling crypto. According to prosecutors, the couple pocketed at least $1.3 million during the alleged scheme from June 2022 to April 2023.

Most of the money came from the online church Victorious Grace Church, where Eligo serves as a pastor. Out of the raised $3 million, half was paid to the Internal Revenue Service for taxes, and a significant portion was used for a home remodeling project.

“But out of that $1.3m, half of it went to the IRS and $200,000 went to a home remodel that the Lord told us to do,” he said.

Many viewers shared words of encouragement in the video comments, such as “prayers going up” and “hang in there, stay strong.”

The Regalados are scheduled to appear in Denver District Court next week.

“God is not done with this project; God is not done with INDX coin,” he said.

Colorado commissioner files fraud for Regalado’s INDXcoin

Last week, Colorado Securities Commissioner Tung Chan filed fraud charges in Denver District Court, accusing them of targeting members of the state’s Christian community. The complaint alleges that the Regalados have enriched themselves by promoting a self-launched cryptocurrency token named INDXcoin.

The Kingdom Wealth Exchange, an online cryptocurrency platform owned and operated by the Regalados and the sole platform selling the INDX token, suddenly closed on November 1, as reported by the Denver Post.

“Mr. Regalado took advantage of the trust and faith of his Christian community and that he peddled outlandish promises of wealth to them when he sold them essentially worthless cryptocurrencies,” Chan said.

The investigation began following multiple complaints from investors who had suffered losses with INDXcoin. The complaint alleges Regalados continued marketing it as a low-risk, high-profit investment, while in reality, it was illiquid and practically worthless.

The CSC said the Regalados had no experience operating a cryptocurrency exchange or creating a virtual token before launching INDX two years ago. The agency said creating a cryptocurrency token is something almost anyone can do.

The couple promoted INDXcoin despite a third-party auditor finding it “unsafe, unsecure, and riddled with technical problems.”

The funds were allegedly used for their extravagant lifestyle, including buying a Range Rover, luxury items, jewelry, boat rentals and snowmobile adventures.

In the same video announcement, Regalado told INDXcoin holders that, according to God’s guidance, all investors should avoid selling the token.

He advised his followers to “stop being ruled by mammon (chasing money).”

Eligo said that he still hoped that investors could get their money back.

“God is going to work a miracle in the financial sector,” said Eligo.