Cryptocurrency Ponzi Scheme

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed a civil lawsuit against Pastor Francier Obando Pinello of Pasco, Washington, accusing him of running a $5.9 million Ponzi scheme.

The lawsuit targets Pinello and his affiliated companies, Solanofi, Solano Partners Ltd. and Solano Capital Investments, which were allegedly used to promote the scheme.

Details:
According to the complaint, Pinello targeted 1,515 individuals, mostly members of his Spanish-speaking congregation, using his position as a trusted pastor.

Pinello claimed that Solanofi’s platform offered guaranteed returns of up to 34.9% per month through high-performance trading, and offered fake account statements via an online platform to fool participants into believing the scheme was legitimate.

He also encouraged new investor recruitment by offering a 15% referral fee.

But the truth is:

There was no real trading platform or investment returns, and new investors’ money was used to pay previous profits.

The embezzled funds were used for the pastor’s personal purposes, while the Solanofi entities remained fictitious and unable to carry out any real activity.

Currently, the commission is seeking compensation for victims, the recovery of embezzled funds, civil monetary penalties, and a permanent ban on Penelo to prevent him from any cryptocurrency-related activities.

This case is part of a series of fraudulent schemes. In March, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) uncovered a $300 million Ponzi scheme targeting Latinos, while other cases in August involved fraudulent schemes totaling more than $650 million.

Posted using Tribaldex Blog