前帕斯科牧師被指控策劃針對投資者的數百萬美元加密騙局

華盛頓州帕斯科市的一名前牧師因涉嫌參與價值數百萬美元的加密貨幣詐欺計劃而被起訴。

A former pastor from Pasco, Washington, has been indicted for his alleged involvement in a multi-million dollar cryptocurrency fraud scheme. The charges were announced by U.S. Attorney Vanessa Waldref, on January 8, 2025.

華盛頓州帕斯科市的一名前牧師因涉嫌參與價值數百萬美元的加密貨幣詐欺計劃而被起訴。這些指控由美國檢察官 Vanessa Waldref 於 2025 年 1 月 8 日宣布。

According to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice, Francier Obando Pinillo, 51, of Miami, Florida, was arraigned on January 12, 2025, in U.S. District Court in Richland, Washington, on 26 counts of fraud. The charges stem from a scheme that allegedly defrauded investors out of more than $34 million.

根據美國司法部發布的消息，51 歲的弗朗西爾·奧班多·皮尼洛(Francier Obando Pinillo) 來自佛羅裡達州邁阿密，於2025 年1 月12 日在華盛頓州里奇蘭的美國地方法院因26 項詐欺罪被提審。這些指控源於一項據稱詐騙投資者超過 3400 萬美元的計劃。

Pinillo was the pastor of Ministerio Apostolico Profetico Tiempos de Poder, a Spanish-language church in Pasco, Washington. The indictment alleges that he used his position to convince church members and others to invest in a cryptocurrency business, ‘Solano Fi.’

皮尼洛是位於華盛頓州帕斯科的西班牙語教會 Ministryio Apostolico Profetico Tiempos de Poder 的牧師。起訴書稱，他利用職務之便說服教會成員和其他人投資加密貨幣業務「Solano Fi」。

Solano Fi, officials with the company told investors, used cryptocurrency ‘staking’ to guarantee monthly returns of 34.9% with no risk. Investors, he said, could access and withdraw their money through an online platform.

該公司的官員告訴投資者，Solano Fi 使用加密貨幣「質押」來保證 34.9% 的月回報率，且沒有風險。他說，投資者可以透過線上平台獲取和提取資金。

However, the platform was fraudulent, according to the indictment. Investors had a fake balance and fake gains of their accounts but couldn’t make withdrawals.

然而，根據起訴書，該平台存在欺詐行為。投資者的帳戶有虛假餘額和虛假收益，但無法提款。

Pinillo allegedly invested that money instead with himself and his coconspirators.

據稱，皮尼洛將這筆錢投資給了他自己和他的同謀。

To encourage investors to go out to recruit others, he promised that shareholders would earn additional returns for every new investor.

為了鼓勵投資者出去招募其他人，他承諾股東將為每位新投資者賺取額外的回報。

Pinillo later said that when the victims needed to withdraw their money he made excuses. He’ll say the website was down, the market wasn’t good enough, or they need to bring in a new investor so they can buy out the account.

皮尼洛後來說，當受害者需要拿錢時，他找了藉口。他會說網站癱瘓了，市場不夠好，或者他們需要引入新的投資者，以便他們可以買斷該帳戶。

Victims were told by Pinillo they also needed to send more money to “repair” the system. In reality he was taking the funds of these people for himself.

皮尼洛告訴受害者，他們還需要寄更多的錢來「修復」系統。事實上，他正在將這些人的資金據為己有。

If convicted of Pinillo’s charges, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

如果皮尼洛的指控成立，他將面臨最高 20 年的監禁。

“Cryptocurrency scams have become a new way that fraudsters target honest people and steal their money,” said U.S. Attorney Waldref.

美國檢察官瓦爾德雷夫表示：“加密貨幣詐騙已成為欺詐者瞄準誠實人並竊取他們資金的一種新方式。”

The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dan Fruchter and Jeremy J. Kelley are prosecuting the case.

聯邦調查局對此案進行了調查。美國助理檢察官 Dan Fruchter 和 Jeremy J. Kelley 正在起訴此案。