Fmr. pastor, 3 sons face fraud charges

SULLIVAN, Ind. (AP) - A former pastor accused of bilking thousands of investors out of millions of dollars in a Ponzi scheme aimed at their Christian beliefs has been charged with securities fraud.

The Indiana Secretary of State's Office said warrants on 10 felony counts each were issued Tuesday for Vaughn Reeves of Sullivan and three of his sons.

Each could face two years to eight years in prison on each count if convicted. Bond for each was set at $1.5 million cash.

The men are charged with committing fraud by duping church members into buying bonds that were supposed to finance church construction projects through their brokerage, Alanar Inc., then pocketing about $6 million.

None of the Reeves could be located for comment and it was not immediately clear whether they had attorneys.