In a Washington state court, a pastor stands accused by a grand jury on 26 charges of deception. The accusation is that he swindled money from over 1,500 investors through a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme called Solona Fi, which he claimed originated in a dream.
On January 9th, the Justice Department announced that Francier Obando Pinillo was charged at a federal court in Washington, accused of exploiting his role as a pastor to persuade church members to participate in a cryptocurrency venture known as Solona Fi.
According to Pinillo, he conceived the concept of Solano Fi during a dream, and he asserted that this venture offers a secure and risk-free return on investment.
He faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.
In December, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission brought charges of fraud and misappropriation against Pinillom, alleging that a man aged 51 had misused approximately $6 million.
According to the Eastern District of Washington’s US Attorney’s Office, Pinillo served as a pastor at a Spanish-speaking church in Pasco, Washington. They alleged that he attracted investors through Solano Fi’s Facebook page and the Telegram group “Multimillionarios SolanoFi,” which boasted over 1,500 members.
It said some of Pinillo’s alleged victims attended his church in Washington.
It is claimed that he asserted to potential investors that Solano Fi managed trades in Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and various other cryptocurrencies for clients, promising they would earn interest on their investments by holding tokens to increase returns monthly up to a risk-free 35%.
It was alleged that the Solano Fi site displayed inflated, false account balances and supposed returns to investors, yet they were prevented from making withdrawals.
The Justice Department claims that some victims were reportedly informed they had to hold off until cryptocurrency markets recovered, while others were told they couldn’t withdraw their money unless they found a new investor to “purchase” their account instead. Essentially, Pinillo and his associates are alleged to have kept investors’ funds while providing these justifications.
The prosecution argued that the victims were tricked into believing they’d receive extra profits for each new investor they attracted, which is typical in pyramid scams.
Solano Fi ran between November 2021 and October 2023.
As a dedicated analyst, I’m fully invested in the pursuit of returning the embezzled assets to their rightful owners, following the statements made by Washington US Attorney Vanessa Waldref. Yet, I acknowledge the complexities involved in this task, particularly when it comes to alleged cryptocurrency scams. The intricate nature of crypto accounts poses unique challenges that demand careful navigation and innovative strategies.
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2025-01-13 08:07