A federal grand jury for the Eastern District of Washington has charged Francier Obando Pinillo, a 51-year-old pastor, with 26 counts of fraud relating to a crypto scam.
Vanessa Ruth Waldref, a U.S. attorney for the Eastern District, first disclosed the development last year, announcing that the federal grand jury had returned its indictment against Pinillo.
Afterward, the authorities arraigned the pastor at a federal court in Washington yesterday.
Indictment Against Pastor Pinillo
Notably, the indictment accused Pinillio of orchestrating a crypto-related scam for two years, from November 2021 to October 2023.
Pinillio allegedly defrauded his church members of millions of dollars during this period. According to a press release, Pinillo, pastor of a Spanish-language church, Ministerio Apostolico Profetico Tiempos de Poder, lured his congregation into a crypto investment platform dubbed Solano Fi.
At the time, he claimed he received the investment idea in a divine dream while assuring investors about its safety.
In addition to his church members, the pastor recruited more investors to the platform through social media, including Facebook and Telegram. Specifically, his Telegram group alone had more than 1,500 members.