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Pigeon Trial

Tuesday, 5 November 2013 05:05

Fraud, bankruptcy case of Pigeon King goes to trial

Will the house of feathers finally fall on Pigeon King?

Arlan Galbraith is going to trial this week on fraud and bankruptcy act charges after farmers lost $20-million on Pigeon King International.

The Waterloo-based business enlisted farmers in Canada and the US, including some here in Oxford to invest in pigeon breeding.

Galbraith would sell pigeons to farmers for $500 a pair, and then buy the offspring from them to sell to future investors.  Prosecutors allege the business was a ponzi scheme with no end market for the birds.  

Heart FM interviewed Galbraith about his business back in 2007 as part of a 5-part series looking into the business, and at the time, he told us about his future plans for the birds.  "I'm eventually going to build processing plants to process my pigeons for human consumption.  I'm not ready to do that at this stage, but I'm laying the groundwork for the future."
 
However, the future never arrived for Galbraith.  The business went bankrupt in 2008, spawning complaints from farmers who invested and were left with large coops and hundreds of pigeons that had no value.  Waterloo Regional Police began investigating and Galbraith was charged in the months that followed.  

Galbraith's trial began today with jury selection.  He has pleaded not guilty and will be representing himself.
 
Galbraith says in the trial, he'll show the business was legitimate, and plans to clear his name.

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