Holy Crypto! Pastor Accused of Fleecing Flock in $5.9 Million-Dollar Scheme

A Washington state pastor has been charged with operating a $5.9 million fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme that primarily targeted Spanish-speaking members of his own congregation, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) informed.

CFTC Charges Pastor in $5.9 Million Crypto Fraud

CFTC filed civil charges against Francier Obando Pinillo for allegedly running a sophisticated digital assets scam through his companies Solanofi, Solano Partners Ltd, and Solano Capital Investments.

Pinillo, who served as a pastor in Pasco, Washington, allegedly exploited his position of trust to lure at least 1,515 customers into a fraudulent investment scheme by promising guaranteed monthly returns of up to 34.9% through an automated crypto trading platform.

“He abused his position of trust as the church pastor to attract customers and claimed to be the CEO of the Solanofi entities that had an automated computer trading system which he called Solanofi,” the CFTC commented in the statement.

The case also involves the collapsed FTX exchange. Pinillo claimed that, in addition to trading on his own leveraged system, some funds were sent to FTX accounts and subsequently frozen due to the platform's bankruptcy, preventing the return of customer assets. However, according to the CFTC, there is no evidence that any funds were ever transferred to FTX.

How The Scheme Worked?

The pastor provided victims access to fake online dashboards displaying fabricated profits while operating what authorities describe as a Ponzi scheme, using new investor funds to pay earlier investors. He incentivized recruitment by offering 15% referral fees to bring in additional victims.

“The Solanofi entities were a sham and their alleged profitability and trading track record were non-existent,” added CFTC.

The CFTC is seeking restitution for defrauded customers, disgorgement of illegal profits, civil monetary penalties, and permanent trading bans. The regulator emphasized that no actual trading platform existed and Pinillo misappropriated all customer assets.

This is not the first time the CFTC has accused a pastor of exploiting his congregation. In 2010, it filed a similar complaint regarding a Forex Ponzi scheme and Jeremiah C. Yancy, who solicited more than $1 million from at least 36 members of his congregation.

In 2024, the market watchdog achieved over $17.1 billion in financial fines. This record-breaking total comprises $2.6 billion in civil monetary penalties and $14.5 billion in disgorgement and restitution, reflecting the agency's increased enforcement efforts across traditional and emerging markets. A significant portion of these results stemmed from cases involving digital asset commodities, which included some of the largest actions in the CFTC's history.