Alleged father-son fleecers in trouble again

Oceanside's John Galanis and his son Jason of Los Angeles have been charged both civilly and criminally with defrauding investors in phony Native American tribal bonds. Both suits were filed against the pair and five others in the Southern District of New York.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged today (May 11) that the two — fraud recidivists of long standing — convinced a Native American tribal corporation affiliated with the Wakpamni District of the Oglala Sioux Nation to issue bonds that the father-and-son duo had structured. Bond proceeds were to be invested in annuities to benefit the tribal corporation, says the SEC.

But the money wound up in a Florida bank account belonging to Jason Galanis. The money was used for purchases at luxury retailers such as Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci. Some of the money went to pay lawyers representing John and Jason Galanis in a different civil and criminal fraud case brought last year. That one involved father John, son Jason, and two other sons.

Among other past scrapes with the law, Jason Galanis was charged in an accounting fraud case when he was a shareholder in Penthouse magazine. Last year, the SEC noted that John Galanis "has been a defendant in numerous SEC enforcement actions dating back to the 1970s."