Christian radio host Doc Gallagher gets 3 life prison terms for bilking listeners out of millions of dollars

Photo credit: Gallagher Financial Group website

A Texas radio host was sentenced to three life prison terms Monday for a Ponzi scheme in which he bilked elderly listeners out of millions of dollars. William Neil “Doc” Gallagher also got a 30-year prison sentence from state District Judge Elizabeth Beach for his August guilty pleas. The sentences are to be served concurrently.

The sentencing came after more than a dozen senior victims testified during a three-hour court hearing about losing anywhere from $50,000 to $600,000 invested in the Gallagher Financial Group. Some said they had to sell their homes, borrow money from their children or take part-time jobs to supplement their Social Security benefits.

“‘Doc’ Gallagher is one of the worst offenders I have seen,” said Lori Varnell, chief of the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Elder Financial Fraud team. “

Article URL: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/doc-gallagher-christian-radio-host-3-life-prison-terms-ponzi-scheme