West Coast Pastor Indicted After Allegedly Scamming Church Members out of $13 Million for Bogus Business

West Coast pastor Cristian Popescu was arraigned in Seattle on Wednesday after being indicted over an alleged $13 million fraud targeting church members, federal prosecutors said.

The 46-year-old from Bothell, Washington, and pastor of Passion for Christ in Kirkland, is accused of persuading investors that God had chosen them to finance his business.

Prosecutors trace the alleged scheme to 2015, when he began seeking investment in Followone, Inc., a Bellevue startup he presented as an e-commerce business combined with a social network.

West Coast Pastor's Pitch to Investors

Popescu allegedly recruited 30 investors by claiming that Followone generated millions in revenue and that its stock value was climbing.

He also allegedly promoted an upcoming initial public offering on Nasdaq, offering investors a stock market debut.

Prosecutors allege that the financial claims were fabricated. They describe the online marketplace as a non-functional collection of dummy screens, despite its presentation as an all-in-one platform for e-commerce and social networking.

'At one point, Popescu claimed Followone Inc had a value of $1.4 billion, when he knew it had little or no value,' the US Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington stated in its Wednesday announcement.

Authorities reported that one investor transferred nearly $1 million in a single wire transfer. Another amount cited in their account was nearly $600,000.

Savings Sought by West Coast Pastor

The requests for investment allegedly extended to money held for retirement and children's college education. Prosecutors allege that Popescu routinely urged investors to withdraw funds from those accounts and put the money into Followone.

He allegedly told investors that a $1 million investment would secure a place on the company's board of directors. But when people pressed him to return their money, he allegedly told them that 'they were demonically possessed,' authorities said.

'These charges allege that a religious leader abused the trust of his fellow believers to steal millions of dollars for his own personal benefit,' said W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle field office.

West Coast Pastor Faces Money Laundering Counts

Investigators allege that Popescu employed shell companies to create the appearance of strong business activity at Followone. Their account describes investor funds moving through payments to other companies he also controlled.

They stated that 'he was just using investor money to pay fake invoices and then used those payments to shell companies he controlled for his own benefit.'

Prosecutors allege that more than $4.5 million went directly into accounts belonging to Popescu, his wife and other family members. They also outlined payments through the company's payroll.

Popescu allegedly paid himself more than $1 million in 'wages' from 2017 to 2024. Prosecutors allege he also put his wife on the company's payroll, where she received roughly $300,000 despite never working for the business.

Popescu faces ten counts of wire fraud and five counts of money laundering. The allegations have not been proven in court. The reported maximum penalties are 20 years in prison for wire fraud and 10 years for money laundering, plus a $250,000 fine.

After his arraignment in US District Court in Seattle, Popescu was released on electronic monitoring. The case is scheduled to go to trial on 21 December.