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Michael and Phyllis Bleckley, the Richland, Ga., couple accused of
cheating a local family out of millions of dollars, were released from
jail Friday, records show.
The couple left the Muscogee County
Jail about two days after their bonds were lowered from $1.5 million
each.
During a Wednesday hearing, Muscogee County Superior Court
Judge Doug Pullen reduced Michael Bleckley’s bond to $100,000, and that
of his wife’s, Phyllis Bleckley, to $50,000.
The couple, who owns
the Warm Springs restaurant The Bulloch House, had been in jail since
Aug. 19. They were arrested after being accused of acting as
broker-dealers of MKB Capital Management Inc. to take more than $3.4
million from the Kim family, which owns Mikata Japanese Steakhouse and
Sushi Bar in Columbus. The Bleckleys claimed to have invested the
family’s money with good returns, and even met with the Kims quarterly
to present financial reports, said Chief Assistant District Attorney
Alonza Whitaker.
The prosecutor said when the Kims tried to
collect their money, the Bleckleys changed their company name and said
the money had gone into a software research firm expected to bring in a
return of $18 million.
Whitaker had told the judge at a Sept. 4
hearing that Michael Bleckley had a pilot’s license and that records
showed he had $1 million in an account in England. The Bleckleys’
lawyer, Frank Martin, has said neither is true and has accused the
prosecutor of making “false” and “reckless” statements that misled the
trial court to assess an “unreasonable” and “excessive” bond.
The
Bleckleys have been indicted on charges including conspiracy to commit
theft, failure to register as a broker-dealer and violation of the
Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, as well as
seven counts each of theft by taking and selling unregistered
securities. Their trial is scheduled for Oct. 6.
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