Denver Pastor Must Repay $3.3M After Crypto Scheme Ruling

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Denver Pastor Must Repay $3.3 Million After Crypto Scheme Ruling

Written by Aaron S.,

Editor-In-Chief

Last Updated: September 17, 2025

Key Takeaways

A Denver pastor and his wife must repay $3.3 million after using faith to promote INDXcoin, a church-linked cryptocurrency;
The couple claimed divine direction in creating INDXcoin and used prayer calls and faith-based messaging to gain trust and raise funds;
The court found INDXcoin had no real market value and investor money was spent on personal items, travel, and church donations.

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Denver Pastor Must Repay $3.3 Million After Crypto Scheme Ruling

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The Denver District Court has issued a ruling requiring a local pastor and his wife to return over $3.3 million to investors after finding they violated state financial laws through a church-themed cryptocurrency offering.

According to a press release published on September 16, the court determined that Eli and Kaitlyn Regalado used their religious platform to promote INDXcoin.

According to findings presented at a bench trial in May, they collected funds from more than 590 investors, 509 bought INDXcoin and 87 purchased Sumcoin.

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The couple told supporters that God had instructed them to develop and sell the token. They also assembled a group known as the "Prophetic Team", which joined regular prayer calls to provide spiritual guidance on the direction of INDXcoin and a related crypto platform called Kingdom Wealth.

Judge Kutcher found that INDXcoin qualified as a security under Colorado’s laws. The couple had falsely presented the token as a safe investment and promised potential profits, despite it not being listed on cryptocurrency exchanges. The judge said:

INDXcoin was worthless because no one wanted to buy it.

Although platforms such as Bitget $1.55B , Phantom, and BscScan list a token by that name, the court noted that no contract address was included in the filings.

Financial records showed that the Regalados directed investor money into personal use. At least $1.3 million was spent on luxury goods, vacations, cars, home renovations, and church-related expenses.

On September 9, the US Department of Justice took legal steps to claim over $12 million in Tether USDT $0.9993 that came from a fraudulent online investment scheme. How did the case unfold? Read the full story.