The pastor of an online church in Colorado, who has been charged with scamming investors out of almost $3.2 million (NZ$5 million) via a cryptocurrency marketplace, claims that “the Lord” advised him to do so.

Eli Regalado and his wife Kaitlyn Regalado were charged with civil fraud by Colorado’s securities commissioner. The couple allegedly targetted the Christian community, promising them financial success if they invested in a cryptocurrency he invented, dubbed INDXcoin.

According to a complaint filed on January 16, investigators with the Colorado Division of Securities discovered that between June 2022 and April 2023, INDXcoin raised around $3.2 million from over300 investors who purchased the “essentially worthless” and “illiquid” commodity.

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“Mr. Regalado took advantage of the trust and faith of his own Christian community and that he peddled outlandish promises of wealth to them when he sold them essentially worthless cryptocurrencies,” Colorado Securities Commissioner (CSC) Tung Chan said.

Investigators argued that the Regalados, who operated a cryptocurrency marketplace called the Kingdom Wealth Exchange, spent at least $1.3 million (NZ$2.1 million) of those proceeds to maintain an opulent lifestyle that included tens of thousands of dollars spent on jewelry, designer handbags, cosmetic dentistry, clothing, and home remodeling. The duo, who closed the trade on November 1, are also charged with financing the purchase of a Range Rover using a portion of the proceeds.

‘We took God at his word,’ Pastor says

In a nine-minute long video on Friday, Regalado admitted that the allegations made against him “are true.”

“Out of that $1.3 (million), half a million dollars went to the IRS, and a few hundred thousand dollars went to a home remodel that the Lord told us to do,” he said in the video.

“What we’re praying for, and what we’re believing for still is that God is going to do a miracle,” he added. “God is going to work a miracle in the financial sector. He’s going to bring a miracle into INDXcoin. Everyone that has come in for money is going to be able to receive money back,” said Regalado.

Regalado further stated that he will move the court to address the allegations levelled against him and his spouse. “Either I misheard God, and every one of you who prayed and came in – you as well. Or two, God is still not done with this project,” he said.

In a video update for his supporters and investors in August 2022, Eli Regalado: “The Lord brought this cryptocurrency to me. Take this to my people for a wealth transfer. It has been confirmed a hundred times since then,” he said.

Additionally, the complaint states that the duo informed investors that while they would “tithe” and “sow” in the organisation that supported widows and orphans, “the payments to ‘widows and orphans’ were primarily to the Regalados.”

According to the cryptocurrency marketplace CoinMarketCap, there are more than 2 million cryptocurrencies in use currently, along with 701 cryptocurrency exchanges where investors can transact them.