Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty/Facebook
In late 2022, Eli Regalado, an online preacher and self-declared prophet, was confronted with a worldly problem: He owed employees at his Colorado marketing firm back pay, and they were starting to grumble.
According to one ex-employee, Regalado made a proposal. Rather than give the worker cash, he would offer payment in a cryptocurrency known as INDXcoin, which he had founded and was selling to churchgoers around the country.
“He’s like, ‘Pray about it,’” the ex-staffer told The Daily Beast. “And I’m like, ‘The Lord told me no.’”