“Popescu lured investors from his church with fake marketing materials, websites, and expensive offices,” said Charles Neil Floyd, the acting U.S. Attorney in Seattle, as prosecutors unveiled a case they describe as a $13 million fraud. Cristian Popescu, a pastor in Kirkland, Washington, has pleaded not guilty, and the charges are allegations that a jury has not weighed.
According to the indictment, more than 30 investors, most of them recruited from Popescu’s church, put money into a start-up on the promise of a future Nasdaq listing. Prosecutors say much of that money went to the pastor and his family instead.
The pitch inside Passion for Christ
IRS Criminal Investigation says in its October 13 announcement that Popescu, who lives in Bothell, Washington, was the pastor of Passion for Christ, a Christian congregation in Kirkland. He also ran Followone, Inc., a Bellevue company he claimed operated an online marketplace and social network. Popescu is a Romanian citizen living in the United States.
Prosecutors say he told investors that Followone had millions in revenue, that a Nasdaq listing was coming, and that their shares were rising in value. He allegedly said money could be withdrawn at any time and that anyone who invested $1 million could earn a seat on the company’s board. He also allegedly pitched the investment as a way to benefit the church and the community.
The indictment alleges the company was worth little or nothing while Popescu claimed it was worth $1.4 billion. It says he used shell companies and fake invoices to suggest business activity, issued false press releases, and claimed to have hired engineers and twenty employees when only three people worked there. Single investments ran close to $1 million, about $600,000 and about $500,000.
Prosecutors say Popescu moved investor money into his personal bank account and spent it on personal expenses or put it in a personal investment account. They allege he transferred more than $4.5 million in company funds to himself, his wife and other relatives, including more than $1 million in wages to himself from 2017 to 2024 and about $300,000 to his wife, who was not an employee. The company owed more than $350,000 in unpaid rent when it was evicted, the release says.
For anyone who put money into a business pitched by a fellow member of a congregation, club or community group, the open question is what to do when the promises stop adding up. The people in this case were asked to trust a pastor, and prosecutors say that trust is exactly what was used against them. Anyone who thinks they were pulled into a similar pitch has specific places to go, and the first is the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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Fifteen counts and a December trial date
Popescu faces ten counts of wire fraud and five counts of money laundering. Wire fraud means using phone, internet or other electronic communications to carry out a scheme to obtain money by false promises, and under federal law it carries up to 20 years in prison. The release lists a maximum of 20 years and a $250,000 fine for each wire fraud count, and 10 years and a $250,000 fine for each money laundering count.
He was arraigned in U.S. District Court in Seattle and pleaded not guilty. The court released him on electronic monitoring until trial, over prosecutors’ objections. Trial is set for December 21, 2026. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Wilkinson is prosecuting, and the case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and the FBI.
Carrie Nordyke, the special agent in charge of the IRS-CI Seattle Field Office, said fraudsters “use whatever means they can, including abusing their positions of trust.” W. Mike Herrington, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Seattle Field Office, said Popescu “defrauded dozens of his own church members through a series of elaborate lies.”
Why affinity fraud works on people who check carefully
Investigators call this pattern affinity fraud. The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy defines it as an investment scam aimed at members of an identifiable group, such as a religious or ethnic community or older adults. The people running it are often members of the group or pretend to be, and many are Ponzi or pyramid schemes that pay early investors with newer investors’ money.
The same SEC alert lists the warning signs. They include promises of unusually high or guaranteed returns, an investment said to carry no risk, and one that cannot be provided in writing or must be kept secret. Pressure to buy quickly is another, as is a recommendation that comes only from someone inside the group.
Several of those signs appear in the allegations here. Prosecutors say investors were told their money could be pulled out at any time and that a stock listing was on the way. The SEC’s advice is to research both the investment and the person promoting it, even when the promoter is trusted, and not to invest based only on a recommendation from a group the investor belongs to.
Where investors who lost money can report it
The SEC says anyone who suspects affinity fraud, or has lost money to it, can report it through the SEC Complaint Center and can call the agency at (800) 732-0330. It also tells investors to contact their state securities administrator; the North American Securities Administrators Association website lists state regulators.
The criminal case is separate from any effort to recover money. The announcement does not describe a restitution process or a victim claims process, and trial is still two months away. Investors with questions about this case can start with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle, which is prosecuting it.
Until the court rules, the facts above remain allegations. The open question for investors who backed a start-up through a friend, a pastor or a community group is whether they hold anything in writing: statements, emails, wire records and the promises made to them. Those are the documents regulators ask for first.
Backed a start-up through your congregation?
People who invest through someone they trust tend to keep the paperwork thin, and when a promised listing never comes, wire records and old emails become the whole case. The first hours after a doubt sets in decide how much of that trail survives.
The Senior Fraud Defense & First-Hour Recovery Kit includes the first-hour recovery plan and a fraud evidence and report log, so wire confirmations, pitch emails and the names of everyone who made a promise sit in one place before a report goes to the SEC or a state regulator. The free credit-freeze steps are inside as well.
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This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
