United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Washington

01/09/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/09/2025 16:52

Former Tri Cities Pastor Indicted for Multi Million Dollar Cryptocurrency Scam

Press Release

Former Tri-Cities Pastor Indicted for Multi-Million Dollar Cryptocurrency Scam

Thursday, January 9, 2025
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Washington

Richland, Washington - U.S. Attorney Vanessa Waldref announced that on November 7, 2024, a federal grand jury for the Eastern District of Washington returned an indictment charging Francier Obando Pinillo, age 51, of Miami, Florida, with 26 counts of fraud in connection with running a cryptocurrency scam that defrauded investors of millions of dollars between November 2021 and October 2023. Pinillo was arraigned today at the U.S. District Court in Richland, Washington.

Pinillo was pastor at Ministerio Apostolico Profetico Tiempos de Poder, a Spanish-language church in Pasco, Washington. The Indictment alleges Pinillo used his position as pastor to induce members of his congregation and others to invest their money in a cryptocurrency investment business known as "Solano Fi." Pinillo claimed the idea for Solano Fi had come to him in a dream and that it was a safe and guaranteed investment. The Indictment further alleges that Pinillo also recruited investors using social media, including a Solano Fi Facebook page as well as a Telegram group known as "Multimillionarios SolanoFi", which had more than 1,500 members. The Indictment further alleges Pinillo told prospective investors that Solano Fi used cryptocurrency "staking" to guarantee a compounding monthly return of 34.9% with no risk. Pinillo explained that investors could access, view, and withdraw their money from Solano Fi through an online interface. However, as alleged in the indictment, the online application was actually designed to allow investors to see fraudulent purported balances and supposed investment gains but did not permit the investors to withdraw funds.

The indictment further alleges that, rather than investing funds on victims' behalf as he had promised, Pinillo defrauded victims into making cryptocurrency transfers into accounts he designated, then converted the victims' funds to himself and his co-schemers. Additionally, the indictment alleges that Pinillo convinced investors to recruit other investors, promising that the person who made the referral could earn additional returns for each additional investor they recruited.

The indictment alleges when victims tried to remove their assets from Solano Fi, Pinillo claimed he could not return the assets until cryptocurrency markets improved, or because the website or application was down, or that he would not return their investment unless the victim brought in a new investor to "buy out" their account. The indictment further alleges Pinillo told investors they were required to send more money to "repair" and upgrade the Solano Fi system so that investors could get their funds back.

"Fraudulent investment schemes are not new, but cryptocurrency scams are a new way fraudsters take money from hardworking, honest people," said U.S. Attorney Waldref. "Cryptocurrency fraudsters often quickly route funds to international accounts, which presents new challenges for law enforcement attempting to recover lost funds. My office and our partners at the FBI are committed to doing all we can to recover the proceeds of these frauds for victims and to hold the people running these scams accountable."

The fraud charges against Pinillo carry a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

This case was investigated by the FBI. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Dan Fruchter and Jeremy J. Kelley.

4:24-cr-06032-SAB

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Contact

Robert Curry

Public Affairs Specialist

[email protected]

Updated January 9, 2025
Topic
Financial Fraud