A Denver pastor who runs an online-only church called Victorious Grace Church reportedly pocketed a significant portion of the proceeds by selling worthless INDXcoin cryptocurrency.
Eli Regalado, the creator and founder of INDXcoin and Kingdom Wealth Exchange, is accused of securities fraud, according to The Denver Post, citing a recently filed lawsuit.
The pastor reportedly deceived online investors by promising that “miracles” would occur “in a very short period of time” if they purchased the coins.
“Just accept the words as the truth of the gospel and put them into practice. And don’t worry about what will happen to your money. I truly believe that you will see a miracle in a very short time.”
Denver Pastor Eli Regalado
In a sermon and persuasive speech, Regalado told his online listeners that buying INDXcoin was part of his preparation to enter the “kingdom,” where he would have “more money” than ever before if he jumped into the cryptocurrency project. I promised it would happen.
The exchange and cryptocurrency project shut down in November 2023, leaving investors wondering what happened.
In the Denver District Court lawsuit, state Securities Commissioner Tung Chan alleged that Regalados sold $3.4 million worth of “worthless” INDXcoin in 2022 and the first half of 2023.
At least $1.3 million of that money went directly to the Regalados, according to Chan, whose office subpoenaed the couple’s bank records.
Chan believes the Regalados lured devout Christians into investing in good causes such as helping orphans and widows, but the payments went to church owners.
The couple reportedly used the funds to make extravagant purchases, including a Range Rover, jewellery, luxury purses, cosmetic dentistry, boat and snowmobile rentals and home renovations.
Additionally, they sent approximately $290,000 to a church account that had no physical location.
Before the project ended, INDXcoins were sold for $1.50 each and payments were sent via wire transfer to Grace Led Marketing’s bank account or Eli Regalado’s Venmo account.
According to the complaint, investors were told that each INDXcoin was worth at least $10 and that 30 million of these currencies were in use. This means the company would need to have $300 million to support the coin.
After conducting an investigation, state detectives found only $30,000.
According to the INDXcoin website, the cryptocurrency has been audited by cybersecurity firm Hacken. Regalados omitted the fact that Hacken had given the project a “0/10” rating, as revealed by a state investigator who had a copy of Hacken’s audit.