Pastor’s divine ‘dream’ crypto scheme indicted by Uncle Sam • The Register

A man of God is in the sin bin with Uncle Sam’s prosecutors over a cryptocurrency investment business that he claims came to him in a dream.

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According to an indictment announced by US Attorney Vanessa Waldref, 51-year-old pastor-turned-crypto guru Francier Obando Pinillo of Miami, Florida, has been charged with 26 counts of fraud over an alleged cryptocurrency scam that vacuumed up millions from unsuspecting investors between late 2021 and 2023.

Pinillo, pastor of Ministerio Apostolico Profetico Tiempos de Poder, a Spanish-speaking church in Pasco, Washington, allegedly cast a wide net, using both the pulpit and social media to reel in new believers. His flock then flocked to what he named “Solano Fi,” says the indictment, which alleges Pinillo described it as a safe, guaranteed investment conjured up during a dream.

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A Facebook page as well as a Telegram group known as “Multimillionarios SolanoFi” with more than 1,500 members promised a miraculous 34.9 percent monthly return – no risk, of course – courtesy of something called cryptocurrency “staking.” Members could even gaze upon their rising fortunes via a slick online interface. But, in a cruel twist of biblical irony, the indictment claims that the only miracle here was how swiftly investors’ money allegedly traveled away from their pockets and into suspicious accounts the indictment claims were controlled by Pinillo and unnamed “co-schemers.”

When disenchanted faithful asked to withdraw their blessings, Pinillo allegedly served up excuses ranging from “crypto markets stink today” to “the app is down” to “bring in a new lamb, er, investor to cash out your account.” The indictment further claims that the not-so-heavenly plan required “repair” fees to maintain and upgrade the Solano Fi system.

“Fraudulent investment schemes are not new, but cryptocurrency scams are a new way fraudsters take money from hardworking, honest people,” said Waldref. “Cryptocurrency fraudsters often quickly route funds to international accounts, which presents new challenges for law enforcement attempting to recover lost funds. My office and our partners at the FBI are committed to doing all we can to recover the proceeds of these frauds for victims and to hold the people running these scams accountable.”

Pinillo faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted, which is likely not quite the dream he allegedly envisioned.

Bitcoin landfill excavation dumped

Meanwhile, across the pond in the United Kingdom, James Howells of Newport, Wales, is “very upset” because a judge – not entirely unexpectedly – threw out his attempt to excavate a landfill site to recover a hard drive supposedly containing Bitcoin worth about £598 million ($725 million).

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Howells was suing Newport City Council to be allowed access or hand him £495 million ($600 million) in compensation. However, the BBC reports that Judge Keyser KC said there were no “reasonable grounds” for bringing the claim and “no realistic prospect” of succeeding at a full trial.

Howells claims the Bitcoin-flush drive was accidentally thrown out in 2013 and he has since been battling the council to let him search where he thinks it came to rest, despite very little chance of success or the data being recoverable.

“The case being struck out at the earliest hearing doesn’t even give me the opportunity to explain myself or an opportunity for justice in any shape or form. There was so much more that could have been explained in a full trial and that’s what I was expecting,” he said.

The council’s counsel argued that existing laws meant the hard drive had become its property when it entered the landfill site. It added that its environmental permits would forbid any attempt to excavate the site to search for the hard drive.

Now that Howells feels “the dig is completely off the table,” he has another cunning plan – to launch his own cryptocurrency. ®