It is said The Lord works in mysterious ways, but perhaps the most curious "directive" of "The Lord" was to supposedly direct Colorado pastor Eli Regalado to commit cryptocurrency fraud, then use the pocketed money to remodel his home.
This is the public defense of Regalado, who has been charged with fraud and today has gone viral for basically admitting to the crime and saying his actions were taken under instruction from God.
An online pastor was charged in CO for a $1.3 million crypto scam. He's released a 9-minute-long video explaining that the Lord told him to sell a cryptocurrency with no clear exit", and spend some of the proceeds on "a home remodel the Lord told us to do".
Here's a supercut. pic.twitter.com/scKpF8nyrT— Molly White (@molly0xFFF) January 21, 2024
The Colorado Attorney General's Office filed a complaint against Eli and his wife Kaitlyn Regalado for running INDXcoin through an exchange they controlled and operated called Kingdom Wealth Exchange (KWE). The complaint alleges they made $3.2 million by targeting Christian communities, promising investing in the cryptocurrency would make them wealthy.
However, an independent auditor found INDXcoin "unsafe, unsecure and riddled with serious technical problems," and the state alleges the coin was "illiquid and practically worthless." The Regalados used investors' funds to "support their lavish lifestyle." Both INDXcoin and KWE were shut down on November 1st.
In his now-viral video, the full version of which can be viewed here, Eli Regalado does admit that he used several hundred thousand of the $3.2 million he received from investors to remodel his home, though he said "The Lord" told him to do that.
After clips from Regalado's video were shared by Molly White (of Web3 Is Going Great fame), internet users were quite literally stunned at the audacity of the Denver pastor essentially admitting to crime but invoking "The Lord's" guidance as a defense.
Regalado and his followers appear to be keeping the faith, if the comments on the coin's community page are to be believed, but it is clear the state has little faith in the Regalados.