Jason Galanis. Photo from Facebook
A federal judge revoked bail for a man at the center of a multi-million dollar bond scheme involving the Oglala Sioux Tribe of South Dakota. According to the Associated Press, Jason Galanis sent threatening text messages to a person he believed was cooperating with federal authorities. But the judge also said he sent a letter to tribal representatives in February, indicating that he might still be trying to defraud them. “Mr. Galanis is unlikely to abide by any conditions of release,” Judge Kevin Castel said in court on Tuesday as he revoked the $10 million bail, the AP reported. “It is a danger to have somebody committing the crime of conspiracy to commit securities fraud while on release.” Galanis and six other defendants -- including his father -- were charged last week in connection with a scheme that required the Wakpamni Lake Community Corporation, an economic development entity on the Pine Ridge Reservation, to issue millions of dollars in tribal bonds. Federal authorities say the defendants then convinced investors to buy the bonds. But rather than invest the proceeds in projects in the Wakpamni Lake Community, one of the districts of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, authorities allege the defendants spent the proceeds on lavish items. Separately, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a 43-page civil complaint against Galanis, his father and the five other defendants there were also named in the criminal case. The agency said they orchestrated the purchase of $43 million in tribal bonds from investors who didn't know the true nature of the scheme. "We allege that Jason Galanis and his associates embarked upon a brazen and complex scheme in cold and calculated fashion to steal millions of dollars from unwitting investors,” Andrew M. Calamari, the regional director of the SEC’s New York office, said in a press release. “Galanis persisted in this alleged scheme even after he was arrested by criminal authorities and charged by the SEC in a different case." The other case mentioned by Calamari was the one in which Galanis had posted the $10 million bail. According to the criminal indictment, the defendants should have invested at least $15 million on behalf of the Wakpamni corporation. Overall, authorities said the entity and the investors of the bonds were duped out of more than $60 million. Get the Story:
Bail revoked for man dubbed Porn’s New King in money case (AP 5/17)
'Porn's New King' loses bail over alleged tribal fraud case (Reuters 5/17)
How 'Porn’s New King’ Allegedly Swindled a Native American Tribe Out of Millions (Vice 5/13)
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