Grand Prairie Attorney Accused of Running $1.45 Million Ponzi Scheme, Pressuring Witnesses to Leave for Mexico
DALLAS - A Grand Prairie attorney has been arrested on federal charges accusing him of defrauding investors in a yearslong scheme, forging documents submitted to federal regulators and pressuring potential witnesses to leave the country as investigators closed in.
70-year-old David Thomas Gilchrist was arrested August 31, 2026, and charged by federal criminal complaint with wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and witness tampering.
Gilchrist is expected to make his initial appearance before a U.S. magistrate judge Sept. 2.
According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, Gilchrist entered into partnerships and promissory notes with approximately 20 investors, telling them their money would be used to purchase property tax liens in Texas counties.
Investigators allege that did not happen.
Bank records showed Gilchrist instead commingled investor money with other funds and used it for personal expenses and payments to previous investors, according to the complaint. Federal authorities described the transactions as characteristic of a Ponzi scheme.
Investigators estimate Gilchrist received approximately $1.45 million from investors between April 2023 and January 2026 while returning about $789,000.
The alleged scheme took another turn after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission began investigating.
According to the complaint, Gilchrist provided the SEC with purported quitclaim deeds that investigators later determined were forged. The documents allegedly contained the stamps and signatures of legitimate Texas notaries who had not authorized Gilchrist to use their credentials.
Federal authorities also accuse Gilchrist of falsely implicating a woman he barely knew.
During sworn SEC testimony in April and May, Gilchrist allegedly claimed he had used the woman as an intermediary to identify homeowners and deliver cash to them in Bexar County. According to the complaint, Gilchrist described the woman as being in the country illegally.
Investigators allege the story was fabricated.
Days before his SEC testimony, Gilchrist allegedly showed up unannounced at the woman's home, told her husband the FBI was looking for him and advised the couple to "take a vacation" for a couple of years, potentially in Mexico.
Prosecutors also accuse Gilchrist of keeping investors at bay with sporadic payments, misleading updates and a series of excuses for why their money had not been returned.
Those explanations allegedly included a government shutdown, an arson investigation and a hurricane-relief deployment.
In one instance, Gilchrist claimed he was hospitalized in Tennessee after undergoing a colectomy. Investigators said records instead showed him checking into a gym in Mansfield, Texas, during that period.
If convicted, Gilchrist faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each of the wire fraud and witness tampering charges. Aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory two-year prison sentence that must be served consecutively.
Gilchrist also faces a separate civil securities fraud case filed by the SEC's Chicago Regional Office.
The SEC Office of Inspector General is investigating the federal criminal case with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander Schwab and Douglas Brasher are prosecuting.
