By Daniel Silliman | Roys Report
Cristian Popescu warned his church that trouble was coming. He preached in 2024 that he had a vision of three high-ranking demons sitting at a table, plotting against him.
“The enemy is furious for our church,” Popescu told Passion for Christ, a predominantly Romanian congregation in Kirkland, Washington, a suburb east of Seattle. “He has a lot of anger against us.”
The first demonic target, according to Popescu, would be his business, Followone, a tech startup that promised to build a social media platform combining key features of Facebook, DoorDash, Carvana, Zillow and more. Popescu told the congregation they needed to cover the company and protect him with prayer.
“Prepare for battle!” he preached. “You will go and engage in spiritual battle.”
Two years later, Popescu was indicted on 15 federal charges of wire fraud and money laundering. According to Charles Neil Floyd, assistant U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington, the Pentecostal pastor stole $13 million.
“Popescu lured investors from his church,” Floyd said in a statement Tuesday, “and then took their money for his own luxuries and day trading, betraying them financially and faithfully.”
One couple allegedly gave Popescu $200,000, then $497,000, then $350,000, thinking they were buying shares that would soon be traded publicly on the NASDAQ. Another person wrote Popescu a check for $598,500 and wired him $999,998.96, according to the indictment handed down last week.
The Pentecostal pastor allegedly urged church members to cash out their retirement savings, take out loans on their homes and raid their children’s college funds.
But the whole time Followone was just “scheme and artifice,” according to the indictment, a business of “materially false and fraudulent pretenses.”
Popescu, 46, now faces a maximum possible sentence of 250 years in prison. The Romanian native, who has lived in the U.S. for more than a decade, pleaded not guilty this week.
His public defender did not respond to an email seeking comment.
‘A multifaceted approach to revenue generation’
Washington state records show that Popescu registered his business, Followone, Inc., in January 2015. He described it as a software company and listed an address in a strip mall on 122nd Avenue, Kirkland, across the interstate from the Google, GoDaddy and IBM campuses.
A press release at the time announced that Followone was hiring engineers away from Amazon, Microsoft and T-Mobile and raising another $5 million in investment capital.
In 2020, Followone became Followone Group, a software, social media, advertising and e-commerce company with offices in a high-rise in downtown Bellevue, five miles south of Kirkland.
According to prosecutors, the expensive suite was fully furnished and had office space for 20 more developers, sales representatives and a customer service department. But Popescu only hired three people, according to the Department of Justice. They worked to mock-up a fake e-commerce/social media platform, creating the illusion of a tech company on the verge of success.
The staff also allegedly created shell companies to charge Followone for work and other shell companies to pay Followone for work, circulating funds to generate documents to deceive investors.
“Followone has strategized a multifaceted approach to revenue generation,” the website said. “Our mission is to bridge the gap between businesses and consumers, creating a seamless ecosystem for everyday needs. … Ultimately, Followone aims to be more than just a platform — it’s a catalyst for a simpler, more harmonious way of life.”
Told victims God wanted them to invest
As chief executive officer, Popescu also continued to pastor the Pentecostal church in Kirkland. The two roles, according to prosecutors, were closely connected.
“Popescu solicited people with money (victims) who he knew were likely to trust him because of his role in the church,” the indictment says. “Popescu told victims God had spoken to him and had told Popescu the victims had been chosen to invest in Followone.”
He allegedly also told them he turned down multiple offers to buy the company, which he said was valued at $1.4 billion. But he said that God wanted him to keep running the company, according to the indictment, and use the profits to benefit the community and the church.
Popescu allegedly convinced more than 30 people to invest, most members of Passion for Christ. When several people said they needed to pull their investment out of Followone, Popescu accused them of being deceived by demons, according to the indictment.
“Fraudsters use whatever means they can, including abusing their positions of trust, to swindle those who look to them for guidance and protection,” said Carrie Nordyke, special agent in charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Seattle Field Office. “Financial crime is not victimless and often destroys the lives of its victims.”
Passion for Christ did not respond to an email from RR. The church has not made a public statement about the indictment but posted the 2024 video of Popescu talking about demons on Instagram.
“Prophecy fulfilled,” the caption said. “Pastor Cristi Popescu brought a prophecy about what is happening with our church today.”
Federal investigators say that Popescu transferred about $4.5 million into his personal bank account, used $1 million to pay off family credit card debt and put $900,000 into his stock trading account. He also allegedly paid himself $125,000 per year and gave his wife a salary, though she wasn’t employed at Followone.
In addition to seeking prison time for Popescu, prosecutors are asking the court to seize any money he has left and anything he purchased with ill-gotten gains.
The pastor’s trial is scheduled for December. He has been released on bond but was required to hand over his Romanian passport.
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