Throughout history, there have been those who claimed that their actions were due to following commands given by their deity. For example, in the Bible, it's written that Moses spent weeks having God speak to him at Sinai before going down to spread what he heard to his fellow worshippers. Things got a little dicey for a while before Moses was able to make his companions understand what was expected from them.
While the demands made in Exodus and Leviticus might have seemed a little odd, a modern equivalent has a much less happy ending for the purported holy mouthpieces. On July 22, 2025, a Denver grand jury indicted Pastor Eligio (Eli) Regalado and his wife, Kaitlyn Regalado, on 40 counts connected to stealing $3.4 million in a cryptocurrency scam.
While it sounds like something that the Devil would make you do, the Regalados claimed that they created INDXcoin because "the Lord told them to." No word on whether or not the Almighty also told them to spend over a million on themselves and to keep an audit showing the cryptocurrency to be worthless a secret.
He Did Say It Was a "Wealth Exchange"
As the pastor of the Victorious Grace Church, Eli Regalado was likely quite well-versed in the Bible and all things related to God. When it came to cryptocurrency, he was a bit less experienced. And "bit" should be interpreted as "had zero experience and no idea what he was doing."
Telling his followers that God told him to start INDXcoin as a "wealth exchange," Eli and his wife began soliciting buyers from their church and other outlets to fund their cryptocurrency endeavor. Targeting fellow Christians, the Regalados promised "exorbitant" returns while also stressing that some of the money was for a "home remodel that the Lord told us to do."
Whether due to ignorance or pure greed, the Regalados wired money from investors directly into their own accounts. In addition to the home remodeling, the Regalados used their ill-gotten gains to pay an au pair and to cover plane tickets and hotel rooms.
At one point, the Regalados paid for an audit of INDXcoin. Despite it returning results stating the crypto was unsafe, unsecured, and essentially worthless, the Regalados kept the results quiet and continued fleecing their flock. By the time they were exposed and indicted, the Regalados had used over $1.3 million of the stolen funds on themselves.
Hey! Ho! Crypto!
It's unknown if biblical lawyer Zenas will be available to defend the Regalados, but judging by the stack of charges the couple is facing, they're definitely going to need some legal assistance. Defiant when addressing a civil court case to freeze their assets into began in 2024, Eli Regalados went so far as to label Colorado Securities Commissioner Tung Chan a "liar" and a "crook." In March 2025, he'd changed his tune enough to describe himself as a "fraud" and his life as a "dumpster fire."
It might not be a plague of locusts, but the charges against the Regalados are both serious and numerous. In addition to a single violation of the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act, the pair is facing 20 counts of theft, 18 counts of securities fraud through omission, and one count of securities fraud through deceit.
When addressing investors/victims in January, Eli Regalados told them not to blame prosecutors because "We took God at his word and sold a cryptocurrency with no clear exit.” There's no indication yet on whether the Regalados plan to add God as a defense witness.
Related Resources
- Proving Securities Fraud (FindLaw's Securities Law)
- Cryptocurrency Theft (FindLaw's Criminal Charges)
- How Does the Law Handle Bad Actors in the Crypto Space? (FindLaw's Courtside)
