A Texas man pretending to be a extremely educated particular operations veteran was discovered responsible of defrauding victims out of hundreds of thousands by claiming drug cartels had been focusing on them and he might defend them for a steep value.
Kota Youngblood, 52, also referred to as Saint Jovite Youngblood, was sentenced to 40 years in jail on Wednesday in Austin for conning 32 folks out of greater than $12 million in a scheme dated again to no less than 2010, in accordance with the Division of Justice.
Youngblood, from Manor, a city about 15 miles exterior of Austin, satisfied his victims {that a} Mexican drug cartel was after them and supplied them and their family members safety in alternate for cash.
Throughout a recorded dialog with an undercover FBI agent in Could 2023, Youngblood mentioned he presently “freelanced” for the Division of Protection, in accordance with courtroom paperwork.
He claimed to have served 22 years within the Military’s 82nd Airborne Division and Delta Drive, a extremely covert and elite Military particular operations power a part of the Joint Particular Operations Command, regardless of FBI investigators discovering no navy service data.
Investigators discovered that the fraudster informed his victims he might defend them and their family members utilizing his expertise and connections as a particular operator.
“Many of Youngblood’s victims were terrorized thinking their families were in danger; others lost their livelihoods to his schemes,” FBI Particular Agent Aaron Tapp mentioned.
Certainly one of his victims testified in opposition to Youngblood in federal courtroom in Austin in Aug. 2023, saying that he had recognized him for round six years and their sons had been on the identical hockey staff.
The scammer had his son inform the sufferer that his father wanted to talk with him a couple of “situation” involving his ex-wife.
Youngblood then claimed that he and his household “were in grave danger,” alleging that his ex-wife was blended up with a Mexican drug cartel.
He informed the sufferer that his ex was making an attempt to have him killed to money in on a $6.5 million life insurance coverage coverage in his title.
Youngblood then claimed he obtained audio of the ex-wife and cartel members hiring a hitman to kill him by means of a good friend on the Nationwide Safety Company.
He then requested cash from the sufferer to guard them and his household. The sufferer wrote him a $70,000 examine for his pretend companies and later gave him two extra funds of $86,000 and $83,000.
Investigators discovered that the scammer “targeted a number of individuals from his son’s hockey team.”
Youngblood used intermediaries between himself and his victims to hide his actions whereas operating his con. Based on investigators, he arrange in-person conferences and averted discussing his plans over the telephone or through e mail.
He additionally informed his victims—who he known as “investors”—that the funds could be “paid back with a significant return on the money.”
Accepting examine funds funneled by means of a enterprise affiliate, he informed his victims the funds to guard their households would double as enterprise investments and provides returns.
Nevertheless, investigators discovered that the con artist gambled many of the cash away in Las Vegas.
“This fraudster developed close relationships with dozens of individuals, building an immense amount of trust seemingly just to destroy their lives financially through elaborate, deceitful misrepresentations,” US Legal professional Jaime Esparza mentioned.
The con man was caught after the sufferer, whose son performed on the identical hockey staff as Youngblood’s son, started working with the FBI after he by no means acquired his a reimbursement.
Youngblood was arrested in July 2023 at Austin-Bergstrom Worldwide Airport on his method to Las Vegas.
The fraudster was positioned in a Waco detention heart and went to trial in April, the place he was convicted of 4 counts of wire fraud and one rely of cash laundering.
Along with the 480 months in jail, he was ordered to pay full restitution of $12,766,384.
“The 40-year sentence that Youngblood will now serve in federal prison, along with the full restitution paid back to the victims, demonstrates the gravity of these crimes, and it is my hope that the individuals and families impacted by his schemes are able to repair any loss they have suffered,” Esparza mentioned.
“Thanks to our partners at the FBI for their investigative efforts that assisted greatly with this successful outcome of justice.”
