By Natalie Kainz—
NBC News
A Colorado pastor who runs an online church and is accused of stealing $1.3 million through cryptocurrency fraud explained to his followers in a video statement that “the Lord” was the one who told him to “do it.” .
Eli Regalado and his wife
marketed their cryptocurrency, INDXcoin, to Christian communities in Denver, saying that God assured him that people would get rich if they invested in it, the Colorado Division of Securities said in a statement last Thursday.
INDXcoin raised nearly $3.2 million, according to the Securities Division.
At least 1.3 million went directly to the Regalados or were “used for their own personal benefit,” according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Denver County District Court.
The Regalados could not be reached for comment.
In a video statement to his followers last week, Eli Regalado indicated that allegations that they pocketed $1.3 million were “true.”
“Of the 1.3 (million dollars), half a million went to the Treasury, and
a few hundred thousand went to a remodeling of the house that the Lord told us to do
,” he said in the video.
According to the complaint, the couple also spent their investors' funds on a Range Rover, luxury handbags, jewelry, a babysitter, boat rentals and snowmobiling adventures.
The couple was charged with violating the anti-fraud policies of the Colorado Securities Act.
“He took advantage of trust and faith”
Colorado Securities Commissioner Tung Chan said she filed the civil fraud charges after she was contacted by people who invested and lost money through INDXcoin.
“We allege that Mr. Regalado took advantage of the trust and faith of his own Christian community and sold them extravagant promises of wealth when he involved them in cryptocurrencies that were virtually worthless,” Chan said in the statement.
Regalado claimed that God had told him that investors would get rich if they invested money in his INDXcoin cryptocurrency, promoting it as a low-risk, high-profit investment, according to the Securities Division.
In reality, INDXcoin was an “illiquid and virtually worthless” cryptocurrency, the Securities Division stated in the document.
The cryptocurrency was only available on the Kingdom Wealth Exchange, which the Regalados closed.
It can no longer be sold anywhere.
“We took God at his word and sold a cryptocurrency with no clear exit,” Regalado said in his speech in Friday's video.
“What we are still believing is that God is going to perform a miracle in the financial sector.”
As if that were not enough, in the comments of Regalado's video, dozens of people continue to assure him that God
"will turn the situation around."
Regalado was 22 years old and serving time in prison for “unloading cars” when his faith called him to become a pastor two decades ago, according to what he said in a YouTube podcast.
He began preaching for Victorious Grace Church, where he and his wife are listed as the only two employees.
Regalado, who had no experience in cryptocurrencies or stock market issues, indicated that divine inspiration called him to launch INDXcoin and Kingdom Wealth Exchange.
“It was last October 2021 when the Lord brought me this cryptocurrency.
He told me:
'Take this to my people for a wealth transfer,'”
Regalado said in an update video to INDXcoin followers, in August 2022.
Regalado advertised INDXcoin through speeches at his church and others he found through other pastors, according to the legal complaint.
From June 2022 to April 2023, the cryptocurrency raised almost $3.2 million through the sale of unregistered securities, he said.
In videos on INDXcoin's YouTube channel, Regalado quotes Bible verses, telling investors to expect a "miracle" as "God's plan" unfolds.
“They specifically addressed the Christian community, and there are many references to Scripture and faith.
He hides behind that to get people to give him their money,” Chan questioned.
“That's really heartbreaking for the people who trusted him.”
Eli Regalado, his wife and their three companies are charged with securities fraud, acting as unlicensed broker-dealers, selling unregistered securities and imposing constructive trust.
They are scheduled to appear in Denver District Court next week, according to the court summary.
Chan urged others who have invested in INDXCoin to contact the Colorado Division of Securities.