A Christian radio host and financial advisor from Texas was handed three life sentences plus 30 years in prison on Monday for defrauding his listeners of millions of dollars over almost 10 years.
The 80 year old William Neil "Doc" Gallagher, who is known as the "Money Doctor" and host of a Christian radio program in Dallas, Texas, had bilked up to $23 million from more than 190 people, most of which were elderly Christians.
"[Gallagher] 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 elderly individuals," Lori Varnell, chief of the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney's Elder Financial Fraud team said in a press release published on Monday. "He worked his way around churches preying on people who believed he was a Christian."
According to the Christian Headlines, Gallagher, who Varnell described as "one of the worst offenders I have seen," pleaded guilty on August 31 for his crimes. He served as the president and CEO of Gallagher Financial Group and hosted a Christian radio show with a tagline "See you in church on Sunday."
The Christian radio host also promoted his investment business in books such as "Jesus Christ, Money Master" and on his radio broadcasts. His website claimed that he had more than 20 years of experience helping people "take responsibility towards their financial future" as they moved closer to retirement.
More than a dozen senior victims came together on Monday to testify before a court hearing, claiming to have lost anywhere from $50,000 to $600,000 in Gallagher's company. The Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney's Office reported that some of Gallagher's victims were forced to "sell their homes, borrow money from their children or take part-time jobs to supplement their social security payments." The victims lamented how they lost trust in people and suffered depression following their financial losses over putting money into the Christian radio host's company.
Newsweek reported that Gallagher was described by AARP podcast host Michelle Kosinski as a "scammer extraordinaire: a smooth, silver-haired and silver-tongued, Scripture-spouting Texas radio show host." However, the Christian radio host did not in fact have the required state license needed to be an investment adviser. Following his March 2019 arrest, court records showed how his personal offices were in "disarray and disorder" and "over a decade of business records and unopened mail scattered and stacked randomly throughout the office and additional suites."
The Christian radio host also failed to have an accounting system to keep track of his victims' investments. Court records also showed that Gallagher merely used money from new investors to pay off older investors. Gallagher pleaded guilty to three charges including deception, theft, and misapplication of funds over $200,000 in August.
One of Gallagher's victims, Susan Pippi admitted, "I don't trust anybody anymore, except for God and my family."
According to CBS News, Gallagher has been imprisoned since his March 2019 arrest on similar charges filed in Dallas County. In 2020, the Christian radio host pleaded guilty to the charges and was handed down a 25-year prison sentence by state District Judge Elizabeth Beach. He was indicted in August 2019 in Tarrant County. Gallagher is now set to serve all of his sentences concurrently.
