前帕斯科牧师被指控策划针对投资者的数百万美元加密骗局

华盛顿州帕斯科市的一名前牧师因涉嫌参与价值数百万美元的加密货币欺诈计划而被起诉。

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.

华盛顿州帕斯科市的一名前牧师因涉嫌参与价值数百万美元的加密货币欺诈计划而被起诉。这些指控由美国检察官 Vanessa Waldref 于 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.

根据美国司法部发布的消息，弗朗西尔·奥班多·皮尼洛 (Francier Obando Pinillo)，51 岁，来自佛罗里达州迈阿密，于 2025 年 1 月 12 日在华盛顿州里奇兰的美国地方法院因 26 项欺诈罪被提审。这些指控源于一项据称诈骗投资者超过 3400 万美元的计划。

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.’

皮尼洛是位于华盛顿州帕斯科的西班牙语教会 Ministryio Apostolico Profetico Tiempos de Poder 的牧师。起诉书称，他利用职务之便说服教会成员和其他人投资加密货币业务“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.

该公司的官员告诉投资者，Solano Fi 使用加密货币“质押”来保证 34.9% 的月回报率，且没有风险。他说，投资者可以通过在线平台获取和提取资金。

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，根据起诉书，该平台存在欺诈行为。投资者的账户有虚假余额和虚假收益，但无法提款。

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

据称，皮尼洛将这笔钱投资给了他自己和他的同谋。

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

为了鼓励投资者出去招募其他人，他承诺股东将为每一位新投资者赚取额外的回报。

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.

皮尼洛后来说，当受害者需要取钱时，他找了借口。他会说网站瘫痪了，市场不够好，或者他们需要引入新的投资者，以便他们可以买断该帐户。

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.

皮尼洛告诉受害者，他们还需要寄更多的钱来“修复”系统。事实上，他正在将这些人的资金据为己有。

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

如果皮尼洛的指控成立，他将面临最高 20 年的监禁。

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

美国检察官瓦尔德雷夫表示：“加密货币诈骗已成为欺诈者瞄准诚实人并窃取他们资金的一种新方式。”

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

联邦调查局对此案进行了调查。美国助理检察官 Dan Fruchter 和 Jeremy J. Kelley 正在起诉此案。