God’s Own Crypto Scam: Colorado Pastor Swindles Flock Out of $3M (3 photos)
Denver-based online pastor Eli Regalado and his wife, Kaitlyn, have proven that the age-old "it's God's will" playbook works just as well in the blockchain era. 
With zero background in tech, the couple managed to fleece trusting Christians out of more than $3.4 million. The secret to their success was remarkably simple: Pastor Eli claimed God personally instructed him in a dream to launch the INDXcoin token. And it wasn't just a divine nudge—he promised it would trigger a massive "transfer of wealth" straight to the faithful.
His congregation got the message. Believers liquidated their retirement accounts and handed over as much as $70,000 at a time to the holy couple in hopes of a digital miracle.
Lo and behold, a miracle did happen—just only for the two of them. When the Colorado Attorney General’s Office took a closer look at the money trails of this divine startup, investigators discovered that roughly $1.3 million never went toward blockchain development. Instead, it funded the couple's distinctly earthly pleasures. 
The funds were spent lavishly: a brand-new Range Rover (after all, a holy man can hardly be expected to walk), extensive home renovations, personal housekeepers, luxury jewelry, designer clothes, and cosmetic dentistry—because a preacher's smile needs to be picture-perfect.
Predictably, INDXcoin was traded exclusively on their proprietary, in-house exchange. The moment investors tried to cash out real money, the exchange conveniently crashed, rendering the tokens completely worthless.
The best part of the saga was Eli Regalado’s reaction. Rather than hiring criminal defense lawyers and laying low, the pastor recorded a video address directly to his defrauded investors.
"Yes, the prosecutor's allegations are true—we really did spend $1.3 million. But God literally told us to remodel the house and spend that money! We were just trusting His word." 
Secular justice, however, failed to appreciate the biblical framing. A Denver court ruled the godly project a fraud and ordered the couple to return $3.34 million to investors. But that civil ruling was just a warm-up. The Regalados now face a 40-count criminal indictment, including racketeering and grand theft. Looks like for the next couple of decades, the pastor will be preaching exclusively to his cellmates.
Meanwhile, the couple still advises their wiped-out flock to "keep the faith" and wait for the US dollar to collapse, promising their worthless tokens will finally soar to the moon. Truly, the ways of the crypto market are past finding out.
