Denver Pastor and Wife Indicted for Multimillion-Dollar Crypto Scam

A Denver pastor accused of conning his followers out of millions of dollars with a bogus cryptocurrency is now facing criminal charges, in addition to an ongoing state civil case.

Eli Regalado and his wife, Kaitlyn, were indicted on forty counts related to the alleged scam, the Denver District Attorney's Office announced on July 22. The charges include twenty counts of theft, nineteen counts of securities fraud, and one count of violating the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act.

The Regalados solicited at least $3.4 million from hundreds of investors, selling them a cryptocurrency called INDXcoin that "was backed by essentially no assets whatsoever and had no real value," according to the indictment. Nineteen victims are named in the indictment, each of whom invested between $10,000 and $200,000 in the cryptocurrency from January 2022 to July 2023.

While they used Bible quotes and promises of blessings to sell the coin, the couple pocketed $1.3 million and spent the money on a Range Rover, home renovations, vacations, luxury handbags and cosmetic dentistry, the civil complaint charges.

In a video statement posted in January 2024, Eli admitted to taking $1.3 million, claiming the bulk of the money went to the IRS, but "the Lord told us to" spend hundreds of thousands of dollars renovating their home.

Eli, a pastor for the online-only Victorious Grace Church, also blamed God for the idea of creating the cryptocurrency in the first place: "The hand of God is on this project. ...What if I get this wrong? What if it doesn't happen? It's not on me, it's on Him," Eli said in a YouTube live launching INDXcoin in April 2023.

The indictment claims the Regalados targeted Christians from their church and other churches to buy the cryptocurrency, telling investors that the coin was all but guaranteed to bring them "abundance" and "blessings." But they allegedly failed to disclose many damning realities, including that they lacked liquidity to "support the amount of INDXcoin then outstanding," and that an audit determined the project was not secure or safe.

“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," says District Attorney John Walsh.

The criminal charges come as the Regalados await a ruling in civil court, after Colorado Securities Commissioner Tung Chan filed civil fraud charges against the couple in January 2024. That trial wrapped in May, with a decision expected this summer.

During that trial, the Regalados argued they had no ill intent in selling the cryptocurrency and still believe God will make the project a success and get the investors their money back. The couple represented themselves in court, BusinessDen reported. At times, the judge had to coach them on how to make motions and objections, and they cited "hallucinated" case law, presumably from using artificial intelligence software to craft a defense.

The couple was in court on July 24, where a judge set their bail at $100,000 each; they've surrendered their passports.

The couple is currently prohibited from selling their cryptocurrency in Colorado, and from accessing the money gained from the Godly grift. They asked for a public defender, but didn't qualify.

Their next court appearance is set for September 11.