Pastor Swindles $5.9 Million through Cryptocurrency Scam

A pastor in the state of Washington has been accused of swindling $5.9 million from churchgoers through a fraudulent cryptocurrency scam, according to a statement from the Commodity Future Trading Commission (CFTC).

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Francier Obando Pinillo, pastor of Tiempo de Poder Church in Pasco, Washington, was arrested in Miami earlier this month. He was then indicted in the U.S. District Court in Eastern Washington on 25 counts of wire fraud and one count of unlicensed money transmitting business, according to court records.

Additionally, Pinillo is facing a lawsuit from the CFTC alleging that the pastor engaged in a “Ponzi” scheme that deceived more than 1,500 people, including members of his own church.  He allegedly misappropriated all funds provided by customers.

CFTC is an independent federal agency that oversees the enforcement of commodity exchanges.

“There was no trading platform, no trading took place, no profits were generated, and Pinillo misappropriated all assets that customers transferred to him,” CFTC wrote in its statement.

The organization is seeking restitution for Pinillo’s defrauded customers, along with trading bans and a permanent prohibition against further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act, according to the lawsuit.

“He abused his position of trust as the church pastor to attract customers,” CFTC said. “Pinillo, individually and doing business as the Solanofi entities, mainly targeted Spanish-speaking customers who had little to no experience or understanding in digital asset transactions or commodity interest trading.”

Pinillo promised customers high profits with no risks

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The CFTC alleged Pinillo committed fraud and misappropriation through a multilevel marketing scheme between November 2021 and December 2023, according to its lawsuit.

He operated the scam through his companies, Solanofi, Solano Capital Investments, and Solano Partners LTD — both of which were “sham” businesses, CFTC said in its statement.

Pinillo reportedly told customers he used these companies to conduct “high-performance” trading on Bitcoin, Ether, Tether, and other cryptocurrencies.

He promised customers up to 34.9% in profits and offered guaranteed returns through a staking service, according to the lawsuit. Pinillo reportedly gave presentations where he claimed a $1,000 investment could grow to just under $1 million in 24 months, the lawsuit said.

When customers checked through accounts, they saw an online dashboard that displayed fabricated account statements, according to the lawsuit.

To attract more potential customers to his scam, Pinillo’s scheme allegedly included a 15% referral bonus.

Pinillo Used Role as Pastor to Exploit Customers

The pastor primarily worked with “unsophisticated” customers who were unfamiliar with digital asset transactions, the lawsuit said. His solicitations were conducted primarily in Spanish.

The lawsuit alleges that Pinillo exploited his position as a pastor to promote his scheme and gain more customers.

“As the pastor at his church in Pasco, WA, and as a guest speaker at other churches, (Pinillo) was able to reach a vast number of potential customers, who believed he was honest and trustworthy,” the lawsuit said.

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The lawsuit cited how at a megachurch in Florida, Pinillo preached as a guest pastor on the importance of lifting oneself out of poverty. He then told congregants about his Solanofi trading scheme and claimed they could make withdrawals from their accounts after three months.

Customers were not able to make withdrawals after three months, the lawsuit states. Pinillo would give excuses for why customers couldn’t withdraw the funds, such as claiming his website had technical issues.

Customers also had to pay a $1,500 maintenance fee to access the Solanofi website, according to the lawsuit.  CFTC said Pinillo charged another $1,500 fee to support his company’s purported legal efforts to recover assets from another bankrupt crypto-exchange he claimed held a large amount of the customers’ investments.

Later, the pastor released a “Christian-values” token called the “ShekkelCoin” to scam additional funds from customers.

Pinillo Continues to Post On Social Media

Pinillo is currently out on a $100,000 bond in Miami, according to court records, and continues to post regularly on his personal Facebook page and his church’s Facebook page.

“I feel a key word from God, so says the Lord, I will bring you out of that crisis, I will give you a way out of that spiritual; emotional, and financial desert,” Pinillo wrote in a Facebook post today on his account. “Believe it & receive it!”

On Friday, the pastor posted, “I will bless you with financial abundance, your coming days will be of greatness and not of sorrow says the Lord.”

The Roys Report (TRR) reached out to Tiempo de Poder Church for comment but did not hear back prior to publication.

Liz Lykins is a correspondent covering religion news for The Roys Report, WORLD Magazine, and other publications.