The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has accused a pastor of promoting a $6 million crypto Ponzi scheme to 1,500 people, including those who attended his church in Washington state.

On December 10, the CFTC announced that it had filed a complaint against Francier Obando Pinillo for fraud and misappropriation, as part of what it described as a multi-level marketing scheme.

In a complaint filed on December 9 with a federal court in Spokane, the CFTC alleged that Pinillo, a pastor at a Spanish church in Pasco, Washington, operated a trading platform through which he claimed to reward users with “high-performance” crypto trading, targeting his congregation and others via social media.

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The regulator stated that between November 1, 2021, and December 31, 2023, Pinillo claimed to be the CEO of Solanofi, Solano Partners Ltd., and Solano Capital Investments. Pinillo allegedly stated that these companies had developed a “Solano ecosystem” in which they traded Bitcoin, Ether, Tether, and other cryptocurrencies on behalf of clients.

The CFTC also claimed that Pinillo promised customers up to 34.9% monthly profits through Solanofi and that the platform used bots and other software for crypto trading.

According to the complaint, a service known as Solanofi 2.0 offered staking services for Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, USDT, and Dogecoin, promising “guaranteed profits” to customers. The CFTC’s allegations also included claims that users were shown fake account statements on an online dashboard and offered a 15% referral fee to encourage others to join.

The CFTC’s complaint stated, “These representations and account statements were false.”

“There was no automated computer trading program, there were no customer accounts, there was no trading taking place or profits generated, and the defendant was misappropriating all digital and fiat assets customers transferred,” it added.

The CFTC alleged that “unsophisticated customers,” with little to no experience in digital asset transactions, commodity trading, or staking digital assets, were targeted.

The regulator noted, “The defendant’s solicitations were almost exclusively in Spanish, which permitted him to abuse his position of trust as a pastor.”

The CFTC is seeking restitution for defrauded customers, forfeiture of all funds generated through the scheme, a trading ban, and a permanent injunction. Information on Pinillo’s lawyers was not immediately available.

Pinillo did not respond to a request for comment sent via social media.

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