The U.S. Department of Justice accuses a pastor of orchestrating a multimillion-dollar cryptocurrency scam, facing up to 20 years in prison

ChainCatcher news, according to a recent announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Washington has charged Pastor Francier Obando Pinillo with 26 counts of fraud, alleging that he orchestrated a cryptocurrency scam called "Solano Fi," defrauding investors of millions of dollars between November 2021 and October 2023. The maximum sentence for these charges is 20 years in prison.

It is reported that Pinillo assured his congregation and other potential investors that Solano Fi was a "safe and secure investment." According to prosecutors, Pinillo did not stake the investors' funds as promised, but instead funneled their money into accounts controlled by himself and his accomplices.

Pinillo also offered a 15% referral bonus to encourage others to join Solano Fi, creating a structure similar to a Ponzi scheme and using funds from new investors to pay false profits to early participants.

In December of last year, it was reported that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) had sued a pastor named "Francier Obando Pinillo," accusing him of promoting a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme to 1,500 people, including some congregants from a church in Washington, claiming that the scheme raised $6 million.