The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has filed a civil enforcement action against Washington State pastor Francier Obando Pinillo for allegedly operating a fraudulent multilevel marketing scheme involving digital assets.

The scheme, run through entities under the ‘Solanofi’ name, targeted over 1,500 individuals, primarily Spanish-speaking members of the pastor’s church in Pasco, Washington.

Valued at $5.9 million, the scheme reportedly promised customers guaranteed profits of up to 34.9% monthly by claiming to operate a risk-free leveraged staking platform for cryptocurrency trading.

However, according to the CFTC, no such platform existed, no trading occurred, and all customer funds were misappropriated.

Pinillo’s crypto sins

Pinillo used his role as a trusted pastor to get the confidence of his victims, many of whom had limited understanding of cryptocurrency or trading. Presenting himself as the CEO of the Solanofi entities, Pinillo assured customers that the platform’s automated system could generate extraordinary returns through cryptocurrency trades.

To maintain the façade, Pinillo provided customers with fake online account statements and offered 15% referral bonuses to encourage others to join the scheme. These actions effectively created a Ponzi-like structure, using funds from new investors to pay fictitious profits to earlier participants.

The CFTC’s complaint against Pinillo claims that he made omissions in his solicitations, including the lack of a real trading platform, falsified account statements, and misappropriation of customer funds.

Payments labeled as profits were actually from misappropriated assets. The CFTC is seeking restitution for defrauded customers, disgorgement of funds, civil penalties, and a permanent ban on Pinillo’s trading.