PANews reported on December 11 that according to Cointelegraph, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has sued a pastor named "Francier Obando Pinillo", accusing him of promoting a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme to 1,500 people, including some believers in a church in Washington, and claiming that the scam absorbed $6 million in funds. The regulator alleged that between November 1, 2021 and December 31, 2023, Pinillo claimed to be the CEO of Solanofi, Solano Partners Ltd. and Solano Capital Investments, which developed the "Solano Ecosystem" and traded Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT and other cryptocurrencies on behalf of customers. Pinillo promised customers that through Solanofi, they could earn up to 34.9% in profits per month, and were told that the platform used robots and other software for cryptocurrency transactions. As part of the CFTC's alleged scheme, users were presented with an online dashboard showing account statements, including account balances, profits, and a 15% referral fee to encourage others to join.
The CFTC said that the trading or staking services promised by Pinillo did not exist, that the representations and account statements were false, that there was no automated computer trading program, that there were no customer accounts, that no trades were made or profits were generated, and that the defendants misappropriated all digital and fiat assets transferred by customers. The regulator is seeking restitution to defrauded customers, forfeiture of all funds generated through the scheme, a trading ban, and a permanent injunction.
