The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has initiated legal action against a pastor accused of orchestrating a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that reportedly defrauded around 1,500 individuals, including members of a church in Washington, out of an estimated $6 million. The allegations were formally submitted to a federal court in Spokane on December 9, outlining charges of fraud and misappropriation against Francier Obando Pinillo.
According to the CFTC’s complaint, Pinillo, who leads a Spanish-language congregation, purportedly marketed a trading platform that supposedly generated significant returns through what he described as “high-performance” cryptocurrency trading. The regulator reported that from November 2021 to December 2023, Pinillo claimed to be the CEO of several entities, including Solanofi and Solano Capital Investments, promoting a so-called “Solano ecosystem” as well as facilitating trades in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether on behalf of his clients.
Prominent among the allegations are claims that Pinillo offered his customers unrealistic monthly returns of up to 34.9 percent via the Solanofi platform, suggesting the use of automated trading bots. Additionally, a staking service named Solanofi 2.0 was presented to customers as a guaranteed way to profit from investments in various digital currencies, including Solana and Dogecoin.
The CFTC contended that users were misled by fabricated online dashboards displaying fictitious account balances and profits. It asserted that no actual trading activities or profits were generated, revealing that all digital and fiat assets transferred by clients were misappropriated by Pinillo. The commission highlighted that less experienced customers, particularly those with limited knowledge of cryptocurrency transactions, were specifically targeted.
The CFTC seeks to recover funds for the defrauded individuals, impose a trading ban against Pinillo, and secure a permanent injunction. As of now, there has been no response from Pinillo or information regarding his legal representation.
