Washington pastor accused of stealing $5.9M for fake crypto investments

A Washington pastor has pleaded innocent to allegations of wire fraud after he was accused of stealing $5.9 million belonging to church members. According to reports, the pastor took the funds from church members and others under the premise of helping them invest in risk-free cryptocurrency investments.

According to court documents, the pastor, Francier Obando Pinilo promised his victims returns as high as 40% monthly. The pastor, who oversees the Tiempo de Poder Church in Pasco, said he will invest the funds in his crypto business, Solano Fi. However, court documents show that he diverted the funds into accounts belonging to him and his co-schemers instead.

Washington pastor docked for crypto investment scam 

According to reports, Pinilo was apprehended at his home in Miami on December 5, after the United States Eastern Washington District Court indicted him. He was charged with 25 counts of wire fraud and one count of running an illegal money-transmitting business. His church, which operates out of two locations in Pasco, has ceased operations, with Pinilo taking to Facebook to make church-related posts.

The accused pastor appeared at the Richland US Courthouse in the Federal Building in connection to the case on Thursday. If the judge finds him guilty of the offenses, Pinilo could spend up to 20 years, the maximum sentence that fraud charges carry, in jail.

In addition, Pinilo will answer to the Commodity Trading Commission, after the regulator filed a civil lawsuit against him. The commission has the blessing of Congress to regulate and enforce commodity exchanges.

Pinilo scammed victims with fake investment promises

According to the filing, Pinilo carried out his alleged acts between November 2021 and October 2023, targeting several people in addition to members of his church. He specifically targeted people with little understanding of the crypto industry.

In addition, he pitched his investment ideas to church members who did not know the type of investments he was going to carry out. His publications were in Spanish, telling victims that the investments included commodity trading.

The civil lawsuit claimed he used a cover of honesty and trustworthiness to scam unsuspecting people including worshippers at other churches. “As the pastor at his church in Pasco, Wash., and as a guest speaker at other churches, the defendant (Pinillo) was able to reach a vast number of potential customers, who believed he was honest and trustworthy,” the filing read.

At an event where he was a guest pastor, the Washington pastor preached on the benefits of the congregation lifting themselves out of poverty before pitching his idea. He told worshippers they could earn an interest as high as 34.9% monthly on their investments. Aside from churches, he also solicited investments at several public gatherings which were usually held at the Conference Center or the Pasco Red Lion Hotel. He pitched his investments on Facebook and opened a Telegram group where he had about 1,500 users.

Investigations uncovered lies about Solano Fi

According to court documents, Solano Fi did not have any investment or trading programs. Rather, it found that Pinilo fabricated online account statements to show profits. The fabricated statements were then given to investors to lure them into parting with their funds. The court documents also revealed that participants were rewarded based on how many people they recruited. In addition, some earlier investors were rewarded, with documents noting that the Washington pastor ran the program like a Ponzi scheme.

However, issues started when new members started making withdrawal requests. The Washington pastor would give them excuses instead of their funds. His excuses ranged from lying about the crypto market drop to website downtime, while at other times, he told investors to recruit new members to buy out their accounts. The documents also alleged that he asked customers to send funds to repair the platform’s system so they could get their funds.

Reacting to the update, the United States Attorney for the Eastern Washington District, Vanessa Waldref criticized the increase in crypto investment scams. “Fraudulent investment schemes are not new, but cryptocurrency scams are a new way fraudsters take money from hardworking, honest people,” she said.

She highlighted that it presents new challenges for law enforcement, as these criminals move stolen funds to international accounts.

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