Published: March 21, 2008 11:16 am            

State preparing case against Ronald Owens

By David May

Lone Star News Group

The longer Ronald Keith Owens remains in jail, the sooner he could face trial on charges he defrauded people out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to the man who is leading the state’s prosecution.

Dale Barron of the Dallas division of the Texas State Securities Board said Owens’ medical conditions, which include high blood pressure and dialysis three times a week, will eventually put a strain on the resources of Palo Pinto County if it continues to house him for an extended period.

Owens, arrested March 6 in Fort Worth and returned Monday to Palo Pinto County, remained in jail Friday afternoon under a $500,000 bond imposed by State District Judge Jerry Ray on a first-degree felony charge of theft greater than $200,000.

Owens appeared before Ray twice last week, and Barron said a pretrial hearing in the case is scheduled for March 31 in which the state and Owens’ attorney, Cora Moore, will work with the judge through the preliminary processes of discovery and the expected filing of motions.

Barron said he is ready to provide Moore all the information she needs. “I have an open book,” said Barron.

Authorities say Owens, a 72-year-old Mineral Wells resident who served one term as city councilman in 1975-77, executed over the course of several years a so-called Ponzi scheme in which he convinced people to invest sums of money in currency buying and trading programs, promising his investors big returns – as much as 40 percent according to some interviewed by the Index.

The indictment against Owens details $730,000 in investments made by 23 different individuals and organizations on 51 separate occasions. However, authorities and some of Owens’ investors say there are likely hundreds of victims scattered across the United States and that the total dollar amount could total $3 million.

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