A Texas radio host who called himself the "Money Doctor" and mixed Christian doctrine with financial advice has been sentenced to multiple life prison sentences for running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded senior citizens out of millions of dollars.
William Neil "Doc" Gallagher, 80, was sentenced to three life terms, plus another 30 years, after pleading guilty to the crime in August, according to the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney's Office in Fort Worth, Texas. The prison sentence adds to a 25-year sentence that was issued after Gallagher pleaded guilty to similar charges in Dallas County last year.
"'Doc Gallagher is one of the worst offenders I have seen," Lori Varnell, chief of the offices' Elder Financial Fraud team, said in a prepared statement. "He ruthlessly stole from his clients who trusted him for almost a decade. ... He amassed $32 million in loss to all of his clients and exploited many elder individuals. He worked his way around churches preying on people who believed he was a Christian."
As a radio host who paid for his own airtime on three stations in the Dallas area, Gallagher was known for his homespun, Christian-based financial advice, and books such as "Jesus Christ, Money Master." Gallagher ran the Gallagher Financial Group, which he advertised on Christian radio with the tagline, "See you in church on Sunday," prosecutors said.
In actuality, he was a scamster who was indicted in 2019 for preying on senior citizens, many of whom have since had to sell their homes, borrow money from their children or take part-time jobs to supplement their Social Security benefits, according to prosecutors.
During the the three-hour sentencing hearing on Monday, many of his victims told Judge Elizabeth Beach of each losing between $50,000 and $600,000 by investing with Gallagher, according to the district attorney's office.
"They spoke of losing trust in people and of the depression many now suffer because of losing their money through Gallgher's company," the office said in a press release.
"I'm afraid my money is going to run out," Judy Dewitt, one of the victims, was quoted as saying by the district attorney. "It's a very scary thing."
Victims asked the judge to put Gallagher away in prison for life, with one victim, Susan Pippi, saying, "I don't trust anybody anymore, except for God and my family," according to the district attorney.
After shutting down Gallagher's scam in 2019, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said he raised between about $20 million and $30 million from about 60 senior citizens, some of them as old as 92, between December 2014 and January 2019, relying on frequent religious references on his radio shows to establish trust with his target audience of Christian investors.