DailySun
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has initiated a civil enforcement action against Francier Obando Pinillo, a pastor from Washington State, for allegedly operating a deceitful multilevel marketing scheme that involves digital assets.
The scheme, conducted through entities branded as ‘Solanofi’, exploited over 1,500 victims, with a majority being Spanish-speaking members of the pastor’s congregation in Pasco, Washington.
Valued at an estimated $5.9 million, the scheme purportedly guaranteed customers profits of up to 34.9% each month by falsely claiming to provide a risk-free leveraged staking platform for cryptocurrency trading.
However, according to the CFTC, no such platform was ever operational, no trading took place, and all customer funds were misused.
Pinillo’s Cryptocurrency Offenses
Pinillo leveraged his position as a trusted pastor to gain the trust of his victims, many of whom lacked a solid understanding of cryptocurrency or trading. Presenting himself as the CEO of the Solanofi entities, Pinillo assured clients that the platform’s automated system could deliver exceptional returns through cryptocurrency trading.
To uphold the illusion, Pinillo supplied customers with counterfeit online account statements and offered 15% referral bonuses to incentivize others to join the scheme. These actions effectively created a Ponzi-like structure, where funds from new investors were used to pay fictitious returns to earlier investors.
The CFTC’s complaint against Pinillo alleges that he made misleading omissions during his solicitations, including the absence of an actual trading platform, fabricated account statements, and misapplication of customer funds.
Payments labeled as profits were, in fact, derived from misappropriated assets. The CFTC is pursuing restitution for defrauded customers, the recovery of funds, civil penalties, and a lifetime ban on Pinillo’s trading activities.
