By Lisa Trigg
Trial dates have been set in the case of a former Sullivan pastor and his three sons accused of bilking millions from investors in an elaborate Ponzi scheme built on money intended for church construction projects.
Vaughn Reeves Sr., 65, will stand trial starting July 6, 2010, in Gibson County.
The trial for Vaughn “Chip” Reeves Jr., 44, will begin June 15, also in Gibson County.
Josh Reeves, 33, will stand trial July 27 in Daviess County.
The trial for Chris Reeves, 40, will begin Aug. 17 in Martin County.
All trials will begin at 9 a.m. local time.
All four defendants and their attorneys were present Friday in the Sullivan County Circuit Court for a status hearing in which Special Judge Dena Martin of Greene County set future hearing and trial dates.
Martin also set an April 9 hearing on all four defendants’ motions to dismiss the charges. A formal pretrial conference is May 14. All hearings will be in the Sullivan Circuit Court.
All four defendants have each 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 that raised at least $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 father and sons engaged in the scheme over the course of at least five years by illegally moving money and concealing the true rate of default on Alanar bonds from investors.
After a lengthy investigation into the company’s activities, Sullivan County Prosecutor Robert Hunley and Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita announced the filing of the criminal charges June 30, alleging securities fraud that occurred between September 2000 and July 2005. All four defendants turned themselves in to authorities soon after charges were filed. They are each being held in the Sullivan County Jail, with $1.5 million cash bail.
Lisa Trigg can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or lisa.trigg@tribstar.com.
