A Denver pastor and his wife have been accused of running a cryptocurrency scam and using the proceeds to pay for a home renovation and vacations.
Eligio “Eli” Regalado and Kaitlyn Regalado were indicted on 40 counts of theft, securities fraud and racketeering, the Denver District Attorney’s Office said last week. Prosecutors say the Regalados solicited $3.4 million from investors looking to buy their cryptocurrency, INDXCoin, but only a “small amount of the proceeds went to the business venture.”
Instead, the Regalados are accused of spending at least $1.3 million of those proceeds on personal expenses, including a home renovation that they said “the Lord” told them to do, prosecutors said. The couple is also accused of spending it on airline tickets, motel rooms and high-end retail merchandise, among other personal expenses.
The cryptocurrency has “zero value” and “all of the investors lost all of their money,” prosecutors said.
The couple maintains INDXcoin is not a security — which is a tradable or sellable financial asset — and therefore it did not require licensing or registration, The Denver Gazette reports. Instead, they say it’s a “utility coin” — which is tradable for products or services — to give people access to online faith-based communities.
The couple was arrested earlier this month, but both are now out on a $100,000 property bond, according to the Gazette. The judge ordered that they will have “intensive pretrial supervision” and must turn over their travel documents. The Regalados did not have attorneys and told the court they don’t qualify for public defenders, according to the Gazette.
Their next court hearing is set for September 11.
The Independent has contacted the couple for comment through the INDXcoin website.
Eli Regalado said “the Lord” brought him the idea for INDXcoin in October 2021, according to the indictment. He went on to tell his followers “God” told him and his wife to start the cryptocurrency, prosecutors said.
The couple encouraged investors “to have faith that their investment in INDXcoin would lead to ‘abundance’ and ‘blessings,’” according to the indictment.
Between January 2022 and July 2023, the couple is accused of taking funds from about 300 investors who thought their funds would help pay for INDXcoin and the Kingdom Wealth Exchange, the cryptocurrency exchange where people could sell and trade the coin.
Colorado Securities Commissioner Tung Chan brought civil charges against the couple in January 2024. Chan alleged the couple violated the anti-fraud, licensing and registration…
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