Dallas police officer indicted in pyramid scheme case
DALLAS - A Dallas police officer was indicted on charges of organizing a pyramid scheme.
Officer Reginald Jones was arrested in October.
He’s accused of operating what he called a "blessing circle."
An arrest warrant affidavit said Jones would ask participants to pay money up front and promised them more money in return if they recruited new participants.
RELATED: Affidavit: Dallas police officer collected $48K in ‘blessing circle’ pyramid scheme
Russell Wilson, a criminal defense attorney who is not associated with the case, explained it as textbook pyramid scheme that would eventually give out.
"There’s a theme. So here, the theme is you are receiving blessings," Wilson said. "And in order to receive a blessing, you have to give a blessing. But you receive your blessing four- or five-times fold. So, if you put in $100, later on when you are blessed, you may get $500."
In total, the affidavit said Jones’ scheme transferred $48,000 and recruited 159 participants.
More than a dozen of those participants were Jones’ colleagues at the South Central Patrol Division in Oak Cliff.
The Dallas Police Department placed those officers on administrative leave to investigate the case.
Dallas police reserve officer Brad Deason and civilian employee Sonja Davis have also been indicted.