Fresh off a Denver grand jury indictment regarding an alleged faith-based cryptocurrency scam, Eligio "Eli" and Kaitlyn Regalado stood shoulder-to-shoulder in front of a district court judge Thursday morning.
Both husband and wife are out on a $100,000 property bond after being arrested earlier this month on 40 felony 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 bond conditions also include turning over all travel documents and "intensive pretrial supervision," according to 2nd Judicial District Judge Karen Brody. The two cannot travel out of Denver county, but are not required to wear GPS trackers.
Neither of the duo were represented by defense attorneys, Eli Regalado noting that the two did not qualify for public defenders.
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 more than $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 duo argued that INDXcoin was a “utility coin” to join faith-based communities online, not a security, therefore it did not require licensing or registration.
"My civil complaint filed in this matter says it all," Chan said in a statement to The Denver Gazette about the new criminal case. "The Colorado Division of Securities initiated the investigation of the Regalados and we believe they committed egregious securities fraud, harming many in Colorado."
Now, the Regalados will have to find council and are scheduled to be back in court on Sept. 11.
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