Eli Regalado, a Colorado pastor, and his wife are accused of selling the almost worthless cryptocurrency INDXcoin to their followers and essentially pocketing the proceeds. But the Lord said to them, "Do not be afraid, for I am the Lord your God.

According to NBC News, the Colorado Department of Securities said Regalado claimed that God told him that people would become wealthy if they invested in the cryptocurrency fraud scheme.INDXcoin raised about $3.2 million, at least $1.3 million of which went directly to Regalado and his wife paid or used "for their own personal benefit," according to the complaint filed earlier this week in Denver County District Court (where most of the victims are located).

In a video statement posted to followers last week, Eli Regalado admitted that the accusation that he defrauded them out of $1.3 million "is true" and said that "of the $1.3 million, $500,000 went to the IRS and several hundred thousand went to home improvements that the Lord told me to do."

Of course, the Lord works in mysterious ways. 'We believed God's word and sold cryptocurrency with no clear way out. 'What we still believe is that God is going to work miracles. God is going to do a miracle in the financial sector."

The money was also used for Range Rovers, luxury goods, au pairs, boat rentals, and jewelry, according to the complaint. The couple is charged with violating the anti-fraud provisions of the Colorado Securities Act.

Regalado told his followers that God told him that investing in INDXcoin would make him wealthy, and promoted it as a low-risk investment with high returns. In reality INDXcoin was, in the words of the Colorado Department of Securities, "illiquid and virtually worthless."

The online-only Victorious Grace Church was the vehicle for the scheme and had only two staff members: regalado and his wife. in August 2021, regalado told followers in a video, "The Lord brought this cryptocurrency to me. The Lord said, "Take this to my people for the transfer of wealth."

The Lord said, "Take this to my people for the transfer of wealth.

It is easy to laugh at such things, but from June 2022 to April 2023 INDXcoin raised $3.2 million. Part of its success was due to Regalado's ability to spin stories to investors about how this cryptocurrency scheme would help widows, orphans, and other causes for which there was no evidence.

"We allege that Mr. Regalado took advantage of the trust and faith of his own Christian community," said Colorado Securities Commissioner Tun Chang.

"They specifically reached out to the Christian community, often referring to scripture and faith. He hides himself that way to get people to give him money. It is really heartbreaking for those who trusted him."

Eli Regalado, his wife, and his company are charged with securities fraud, unlicensed broker-dealer activity, unregistered securities sales, and imposition of a constructive trust. They will appear in court next week.