Kirkland Pastor Charged With Using His Church to Raise $13 Million for a Company Prosecutors Call a Sham

The pastor of a Kirkland, Washington, congregation pleaded not guilty on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, to charges that he persuaded church members and others to put about $13 million into a technology company that prosecutors say was little more than a set of non-working screens.

Cristian Popescu, 46, of Bothell, leads a Christian congregation called Passion for Christ. He was arraigned in U.S. District Court in Seattle on 10 counts of wire fraud and five counts of money laundering, and his trial is set for Dec. 21, 2026, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington said. Popescu is a citizen of Romania living in the United States.

Over prosecutors’ objections, he was released on electronic monitoring while he awaits trial.

What the indictment alleges

According to the indictment, as described by prosecutors, Popescu claimed from as early as 2015 to own and run a Bellevue company called Followone Inc. He presented it as a global online marketplace combined with a social network, where users could buy and sell cars, real estate, health care, food and travel. Prosecutors say the platform was “a web of non-functional screens.”

Prosecutors say he drew more than 30 investors with claims that the company earned millions in revenue, was about to list on the Nasdaq stock exchange, and had grown the value of their shares. At one point, they say, he claimed Followone was worth $1.4 billion when he knew it had little or no value.

The office says he rented expensive space in Bellevue and claimed 20 employees when three people worked there. The company was later evicted with more than $350,000 in unpaid rent, according to prosecutors.

The church connection

Prosecutors say Popescu used his position as pastor to recruit investors from his church, telling them God had chosen them to invest and that their money would further the church’s mission. He offered a seat on the company’s board to anyone who invested $1 million, and urged people to draw on retirement accounts, home equity and personal loans, and their children’s college savings, according to the office.

Investors were required to sign non-disclosure agreements and use encrypted messaging, prosecutors say. When investors pushed for information or doubted him, the office says, he invoked his position in the church, became irate and told them they were “demonically possessed.”

Where prosecutors say the money went

• More than $4.5 million moved from Followone to accounts belonging to Popescu, his wife and other relatives.
• More than $1 million paid to himself as Followone wages between 2017 and 2024.
• About $300,000 paid to his wife, who was not a Followone employee.
• Payments of fake invoices to shell companies he controlled, made to look like business with other firms.

The wire fraud counts are tied to specific investments, prosecutors say. One victim sent nearly $1 million in a single wire transfer, and others sent nearly $600,000 and $500,000.

The charges and penalties

Wire fraud carries up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Money laundering, as charged here, carries up to 10 years and a $250,000 fine, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Wilkinson is prosecuting it.

Popescu’s lawyer was not named in the announcement. Popescu is presumed innocent. The allegations have not been proven in court.