the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) of the United States has sued a pastor, accusing him of promoting a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme to 1,500 people, including some who attended church events in Washington, and allegedly profiting $6 million from it.

On December 10th, the CFTC announced that it had filed a lawsuit against Francier Obando Pinillo, accusing him of fraud and misappropriation of funds in a multi-level marketing plan. In a complaint filed with the Spokane Federal Court on December 9th, the CFTC alleged that Pinillo, a pastor at a Spanish church in Washington state, claimed through social media to his followers and others that he operated a trading platform that rewarded users with "high-performance" cryptocurrency trading.