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Наталя ХандусенкоCrypto
13 January 2025, 10:56
2025-01-13
The pastor persuaded his parishioners to invest money in a crypto project that came to him in a dream. How the story ended with almost $6 million
Francier Obando Pinillo, a 51-year-old pastor at a church in Pasco, Washington, encouraged members of his congregation to invest in a cryptocurrency investment business. The clergyman claimed that the idea for Solano Fi (as his crypto project was called) came to him in a dream and that it was a safe and guaranteed investment, but of course, that was not the case at all.
Francier Obando Pinillo, a 51-year-old pastor at a church in Pasco, Washington, encouraged members of his congregation to invest in a cryptocurrency investment business. The clergyman claimed that the idea for Solano Fi (as his crypto project was called) came to him in a dream and that it was a safe and guaranteed investment, but of course, that was not the case at all.
To attract more investors, in addition to his parishioners, the pastor created a Facebook page Solano Fi and a Telegram group called Multimillionarios SolanoFi, which had 1,500 subscribers, writes BleepingComputer.
Pinillo promised investors a guaranteed monthly return of 34.9% on their investments with no risk. He also told people to transfer cryptocurrency to his own wallet, and instead of investing the funds, he diverted them for personal use.
Investors were given access to the Solano Fi web application where they could manage their funds, but the application displayed false balances and investment returns.
Pinillo also encouraged people to attract more investors to make additional profits, thereby further expanding the circle of victims.
As in similar scams, when victims tried to withdraw money from the Solano Fi app, the transaction failed. When victims were informed that they could not withdraw their money, Pinillo cited unfavorable conditions in the cryptocurrency market or technical issues.
He even demanded that victims send him more money to “repair” the hacked Solano Fi system so they could get their funds, or directly offered them a “ransom” option where they could exit the scam without any losses by replacing their account with someone else’s.
Thus, the fraudulent clergyman defrauded at least 1,500 people in the United States, including members of his Spanish church, defrauding them of at least $5.9 million during 2021-2023.
The pastor is now facing 26 charges of financial fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
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