Alleged Australian con man held without bail

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An Australian man who allegedly falsified immigration documents, made up a real estate investment business and pushed a Mexican passport scam on Wednesday was ordered held without bail.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Kenneth J. Mansfield granted the U.S. Department of Justice's request to after a detention hearing Wednesday.

Mansfield ruled "there is no condition or combination of conditions that will reasonably assure" Taylor's appearance and the safety of the community, according to federal court records.

Taylor's attorney, Gary G. Singh, declined comment after the hearing. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Nakamura is prosecuting the case.

Taylor, 46, who has prior arrests in Australia for domestic violence, criminal property damage and driving without a license, was arrested Friday by special agents with Homeland Security Investigations. He is being held at the Federal Detention Center, Honolulu.

He was charged by criminal complaint May 15 with visa fraud and aggravated identity theft for allegedly lying on his visa applications and using a local person's identity to fake lease agreements for an investment business that exists in name only.

It is not immediately clear how much money was lost by investors in Taylor's businesses.

Taylor promised fast cash returns to investors who put $100,000 into his Wise Horse Capital company. The link to Wise Horse Capital's website is no longer active and there is no listing for the company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval system.

Wise Horse Capital was a foreign limited-liability company registered in Honolulu that purportedly offered a "Global Fixed Income Fund that offers securitized investment, fixed returns, and monthly cash distributions," according to a description the company published online, that was allegedly built with debt in the amount of $7 million in 2022.

Federal agents have found no evidence that the business controlled any actual money after the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs told the HSI agents they were investigating Taylor.

A protective order against Taylor, secured in state court by two Waikiki men, alleged that Wise Horse Capital was a Ponzi scheme.

The men reported the scheme when they discovered Taylor did not live the life of a wealthy real-estate developer with a portfolio of properties worth $3.3 billion and was sharing fake balance sheets and other doctored documents with potential victims.

A balance sheet filed with the petition for a protective order March 27 was a single page of numbers in word processing format dated Oct. 4, 2022. The sheet claimed that Taylor's fund was worth $233 million, had millions in investments locked in Australia, Florida and Texas, $11,460,000 in cash on hand, $76,490,000 invested and zero debt.

Taylor, his sons and associates have allegedly threatened the Waikiki men since 2022.

Another of Taylor's alleged schemes uncovered by investigators was executed with one of his sons, Reef Taylor.

The Taylors were offering Mexican citizenship through investments, according to a Feb. 23 news release from GCAP Limited that listed Reef Taylor as contact. GCAP's website is no longer active and it is not listed on EDGAR.

Typical programs can "demand investments ranging from a minimum of $100,000 to nearly $1,000,000," with processing times stretching from several months to even years, read GCAP's pitch to investors.

The Taylors maintained that GCAP Limited's "Mexico Citizenship by Investment" was better than that, offering an "unparalleled combination of affordability and expediency."

"At GCAP Limited, the importance of accessibility and efficiency for individuals seeking second citizenship is recognized. That's why GCAP Limited's Mexico CBI Program starts at a remarkably low $80,000, making it one of the most affordable options available in the market," read a Feb. 22 news release from the company. "But affordability doesn't come at the expense of quality or efficacy. In fact, the program boasts an astonishingly swift processing time of just 21 days, ensuring that investors can swiftly obtain their Mexico Citizenship By Investment (CBI) without unnecessary delays."

GCAP Limited's website, allegedly endorsed by the "Immigration Department of Mexico" is no longer in service.

An email sent to Taylor's son Reef requesting comment through the GCAP Limited website was not immediately returned.

Reef and Taylor's other son, Finn, allegedly threatened the two Waikiki men, according to state court records, and alleged they were affiliated with a Mexican drug cartel.

Glen Taylor's "two adult sons—with whom he reportedly resides, engages in business dealings, and otherwise associates — (are described as) as innocent, victimized, young lambs while, by contrast, their internet postings belie this, as they have routinely and tacitly hold themselves out to the public as being sophisticated, worldly, entrepreneurs, real estate developers, and the like, over the past few years," read a declaration filed Wednesday by Honolulu attorney Bruce L. Jorgensen, the father of one of the two Waikiki men seeking an extension of the protective order against Glen Taylor.

Jorgensen's son and his associate "seek and need immediate and longstanding protection from" Glen Taylor, Finn, and Reef Taylor and others who work with them.

Finn and Reef Taylor have allegedly "openly and threateningly professed to be members" and affiliates of the "Cardel De Jalisco Nueva Generacion" which translated means Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

The cartel is a criminal syndicate based in Jalisco, Mexico, led by Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes aka "El Mencho," with more than 45,000 associates in about 100 countries worldwide, according to state court documents.

On Dec. 28, Reef and Finn allegedly drove by one of the petitioners in a Safeway parking lot and shouted "I've got 4 letters for you, CJNG, buckle up (expletive) " before driving off, according to state court documents that allege the Taylor boys were making the motion of pulling a gun from a concealed space.

A Jan. 27 text message allegedly from Glen Taylor's sons to one of the men who secured the protective order promised the next time "your daddy and mommy will see you is at your funeral sir. At least we know where you sleep now. Just wanted to have a civilized conversation you fool, now you will see the real way. You will not hear from anybody again, only physically, and unexpectedly. God or the police can't help you now."