Was it a “legitimate business that suffered bankruptcy” or was it a “scam”?
Those are the two choices jurors have as they prepare to deliberate the fraud and Bankruptcy Act charges against Pigeon King International founder Arlan Galbraith.
Closing arguments at the trial were made Monday by the Crown and by Galbraith, who is representing himself.
“I’m not a lawyer. I’m just a farmer and entrepreneur trying to defend myself against charges,” Galbraith told jurors.
Prosecutors allege Pigeon King was a Ponzi scheme which could only stay successful as long as more investors were found to purchase birds from existing investors.
“This isn’t an accident, not a process gone bad,” Crown prosecutor Lynn Robinson said in court.
“This is unsustainable. It is deceitful, it is fraudulent.”
Galbraith, who suggested the Amish mafia and other groups were out to destroy Pigeon King at various times during the first four weeks of the trial, also told jurors to “take a hard look at the testimony of former disgruntled employees” before reaching a verdict.
“PKI was on its way to becoming a multi-billion-dollar business before the smear campaign,” he said.
Galbraith has said that he planned to sell the birds to hobbyists or meat processing plants.
The trial resumes Tuesday morning with the judge delivering instruction to the jury.
