In a significant legal development, the U.S. Department of Justice has announced that Pastor Francier Obando Pinillo has been charged with 26 counts of fraud by the Federal Grand Jury in the Washington Eastern District. This stems from allegations surrounding the purported cryptocurrency investment scheme, Solano Fi, which reportedly defrauded investors out of millions between November 2021 and October 2023. If convicted, Pinillo could face up to 20 years in prison as a penalty for these serious charges.
Pindillo cultivated his following and potential investors by presenting Solano Fi as a promising and secure investment opportunity. Prosecutors assert that rather than safeguarding the invested funds, he redirected investors’ money to accounts he controlled alongside co-conspirators. Furthermore, his scheme included providing a 15% referral bonus to recruit additional investors, resembling a classic Ponzi scheme where funds from new investors are used to pay returns to earlier participants.
Adding to his legal woes, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a lawsuit against Pinillo in December 2023, accusing him of promoting the cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme to approximately 1,500 individuals, some being members of his church. The CFTC’s investigation revealed that the scheme attracted around $6 million in total investments, raising concerns regarding investor protection in the volatile cryptocurrency market.