By Lisa Trigg
SULLIVAN — Sullivan County Prosecutor Robert Hunley says the criminal case against a former pastor and his sons, accused of duping investors out of millions, is proceeding through the discovery process, and he hopes trial dates for the four men will be set in December.
The sheer volume of evidence that must be shared with defense attorneys in the discovery process is enormous, Hunley said Wednesday, so he is in discussions about whether the documents can be scanned electronically and shared as computer files.
Vaughn Reeves Sr., 65, and his sons Vaughn “Chip” Reeves Jr., Jonathan “Chris” Reeves, and Joshua Reeves each have pleaded not guilty to 10 felony counts of affinity fraud through their former company Alanar Inc.
The charges allege the men duped about 11,000 people into buying bonds worth $120 million for church construction projects. Investigators say the men shuffled invested money among various accounts and stole about $6 million for themselves in the process.
Allegations suggest the Reeves’ engaged in the scheme over at least five years by illegally moving money and concealing the true rate of default on Alanar bonds from investors.
Special Judge Dena Martin of Greene County has been appointed to the cases, and has ruled that the jurors for each case will come from outside Sullivan County.
Gibson County will be the trial location for both Reeves Sr. and son Chip.
Daviess County will be the site for the trial of Josh Reeves, while the trial for Chris Reeves will be in Martin County.
Judge Martin is coordinating possible trial dates in those counties.
Prosecutor Hunley said he was disappointed with the judge’s decision not to conduct the trials in Sullivan County. Even though the jurors would come from other locations, the judge stated the travel would have been a hardship on the jurors, he said.
The next court date in the case will be a status hearing Dec. 18 in Sullivan Circuit Court. Trial dates could be announced at that time.
All four men remain in the Sullivan County Jail with bail set at $1.5 million each, with no 10 percent allowed. Motions filed for bail reduction have been denied, and all four have filed appeals of Judge Martin’s decision.
Lisa Trigg can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or lisa.trigg@tribstar.com.
