Texas Border Business
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Texas
AUSTIN, Texas – A federal jury convicted a Manor man for four counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, between April 2021 and July 2023, Saint Jovite Youngblood, aka Kota Youngblood, 52, committed wire fraud against his victims by claiming Mexican drug cartel members were planning to commit violence against them. Youngblood falsely claimed to have been part of the U.S. Army’s Delta Force special operations unit and offered protection to his victims from the cartels in exchange for money. Youngblood also represented that funds obtained from his victim “investors” would be paid back with a significant return on the money. Instead, Youngblood allegedly used most of the money on junkets to Las Vegas to gamble in casinos.
Youngblood was arrested July 31, 2023. He now awaits a date to be sentenced before U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman, facing up to 20 years in prison for each of the four wire fraud counts and up to 10 years for the money laundering count.
U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas made the announcement.
The FBI investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel D. Guess and Matt Harding prosecuted the case.
