Griggs Sentencing Today in Ponzi Scheme Case

By Wendy Osher

PERRY JAY GRIGGS is 49 years old, 5’10” tall, 180 pounds, with grey hair and blue eyes. He is known to have expensive tastes in sports cars, high-end clothing, cigars and golf. Photo courtesy FBI.

Sentencing is scheduled today for a man accused of operating a Ponzi scheme from federal prison. Perry Griggs is accused of working with co-conspirators to operate the scheme in which 17 victims invested more than $4 million. The sentencing will take place in the courtroom of Judge David Ezra in Honolulu today.

After Perry’s release from federal prison, he his wife Rachelle disappeared. A fugitive manhunt was launched, and the couple was captured in Arizona in December of 2010.  They and their Hawaii-based co-conspirator, Kapua Keolanui, pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

This case was particularly unusual because Perry is accused of operating the scheme from inside the prison walls while he was serving a federal prison sentence for operating a prior Ponzi scheme.

Perry’s co-conspirators will be sentenced later this summer in separate hearings.