A Denver grand jury indicted a pastor and his wife on 40 felony charges connected to an alleged cryptocurrency scheme claimed to have been sparked by divine intervention.
The jury indicted Eligio "Eli" and Kaitlyn Regalado this month on the charges — including racketeering, theft and securities fraud — following an alleged scheme between January 2022 and July 2023 where the duo solicited nearly $3.4 million from around 300 investors, according to court records.
The Regalados were the founders the online-only Victorious Grace Church and INDXcoin, a religious-themed cryptocurrency that state regulators said was “essentially worthless.”
The duo allegedly used their faith-based connections to recruit investors while promising "exorbitant" returns on the investments, the Denver District Attorney's Office said in a press release. According to the indictment, only a small amount of the proceeds went to the business venture and that the Regalados spent at least $1.3 million on personal expenditures.
Some of these expenditures allegedly included home renovation that the defendants claimed “the Lord” told them to do, a Range Rover and over $90,000 in traveling and entertainment expenses. All the while, INDXcoin maintained zero value and all of the investors lost all of their money, according to the district attorney's office.
The defendants also await judgment from a civil court bench trial in May, where Colorado Securities Commissioner Tung Chan was seeking a permanent injunction, a freeze on the Regalados’ assets and $3.4 million in restitution.
“We allege that Mr. Regalado took advantage of the trust and faith of his own Christian community and that he peddled outlandish promises of wealth to them when he sold them essentially worthless cryptocurrencies,” Colorado Securities Commissioner Tung Chan‘s office said in January.
The couple argued in court filings that they believed INDXcoin was a “utility coin” to join faith-based communities, not a security, therefore it did not require licensing or registration.
In a YouTube video posted by Eli Regalado on July 4, 2024, Regalado claimed innocence throughout the entire process, calling Chan crooked.
“You are a liar, liar, liar. I hope you get back in the office after your holiday and you see this and you see what you’ve done," Regalado feverishly said of Chan. "Shame on you. You’re a crook.”
Regalado then said Chan should buy some INDXcoin so she could see how the utility worked.
He also claimed that they tithed $290,000 to their own church and gave $245,000 to other churches.
"It's our church. Where else are we going to tithe?" he said. "That's where God had us in our assignment."
Now, the Regalados face criminal charges.
“These charges mark a major step forward in our work to hold the Regalados accountable for their alleged crimes and to bring a measure of justice to the victims," District Attorney John Walsh said.
The couple are scheduled to appear in court Thursday.
The Denver Gazette reporter Marco Cummings contributed to this report
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