Washington Pastor Busted for Allegedly Swindling $5.9M in Crypto Scam

Francier Obando Pinillo, a former Tri-Cities pastor of a Pasco church, has pleaded innocent to crypto scam and wire fraud charges. According to court documents, Pinillo is accused of collecting $5.9 million from church members and others he promised risk-free cryptocurrency investments.

The report has it that Pinillo assured investors of 40% returns. However, rather than invest the funds, he has been alleged to have diverted them into his and co-conspirator accounts. The 51-year-old was finally arrested in Miami on December 5, 2024, on one count of unlicensed money-transmitting business and 25 counts of wire fraud.

Allegations of Crypto Scam and Fraudulent Investment Promises

Pinillo was arraigned at the Richland US Courthouse in the Federal Building, where he pleaded innocent to the charges. However, if found guilty, the accused could bag up to 20 years in jail for the alleged crimes.

The accused pastor also has other charges to respond to besides the current case. The Commodity Trading Commission has also filed a civil lawsuit against Pinillo. The CTC is by law saddled with the responsibility of regulating and enforcing commodity exchanges.

As per the filing in the civil lawsuit, Pinillo scammed unsuspecting members of different churches he reached out to using the guise of honesty. Pinillo, besides preaching at his church in Pasco, Washington, also attended other churches as a guest speaker.

The Scamming Method

During his sermons, Pinillo preached to church members to lift themselves out of poverty and introduced his “investment offers.”

Aside from church meetings, Pinillo also solicited investments at public gatherings held at the Conference Center or the Pasco Red Lion Hotel. Additionally, Pinillo operates from Telegram and Facebook and has about 1,500 users.

Other crypto scammers have been known to target YouTube comments.

Interestingly, when those who invested made withdrawal requests, the accused pastor lied about website downtime. Others were told that the platform system had issues and needed fixing; he asked to send funds for the repairs from these sets.

Authorities’ Response and Challenges

Vanessa Waldref, the United States Attorney for the Eastern Washington District, has condemned the crypto scam and decried the rise in crypto investment scams.

Although she acknowledged that fraudulent investment schemes were not new, Waldref noted that cryptocurrency scams have become a means of ripping money from hardworking, honest people.

These scams could also target job seekers with promises of remote jobs, as reported by TheCoinrise.