- Texas radio host William Neil “Doc” Gallagher has been sentenced to three life prison terms for running a Ponzi scheme which stole $32 million from elderly listeners
- Gallagher’s prosecution came after more than a dozen elderly victims, who lost from $50,000 to $600,000 from investing in the Gallagher Financial Group, testified during a three-hour court hearing
- In March 2019, Gallagher was arrested on similar charges filed in Dallas County and has been in prison since
HOUSTON, Texas: Texas radio host William Neil “Doc” Gallagher has been sentenced to three life prison terms for running a Ponzi scheme which stole $32 million from elderly listeners.
State District Judge Elizabeth Beach also sentenced Gallagher, 80, to a 30-year prison sentence following his August guilty pleas.
His sentences will be served concurrently.
Gallagher’s prosecution came after more than a dozen elderly victims, who lost from $50,000 to $600,000 from investing in the Gallagher Financial Group, testified during a three-hour court hearing.
To supplement their social security benefits, some had to sell their homes, borrow money from their children or take part-time jobs, they said.
“Doc Gallagher is one of the worst offenders I have seen,” said Lori Varnell, head of the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Elder Financial Fraud Team.
“He ruthlessly stole from his clients who trusted him for almost a decade. He amassed $32 million and exploited many elder individuals. He worked his way around churches, preying on people who believed he was a Christian,” Varnell added.
Gallagher and his group advertised on Christian radio under the tagline, “See you in church on Sunday,” and promoted his investment business in books, such as “Jesus Christ, Money Master.”
In March 2019, Gallagher was arrested on similar charges filed in Dallas County and has been in prison since. In 2020, he pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to 25 years in jail. He was indicted in Tarrant County in August 2019.
