Texas Man Posing As Delta Force Veteran Convicted For $20 Million Fraud

A Texas man posing as a Delta Force veteran and a CIA agent has been found guilty of defrauding over 20 of his friends and family out of $20 million, over several years, according to federal prosecutors. The 52-year-old man, Saint Jovite Youngblood a.k.a Kota Youngblood, was convicted by a federal jury on four counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, according to the official release.

Here’s How Youngblood Defrauded “Investors”

As per the release, Youngblood befriended many of his wealthy victims and convinced them to pay/invest money. He concocted various schemes between April 2021 and July 2023, as per court documents.

The most popular of his schemes was to convince people that Mexican drug cartel members were planning to commit violence against them and he could offer them protection in exchange for money.  

In one such scheme cited by Military Times, Youngblood falsely claimed to have been a part of the U.S. Army’s Delta Force special operations unit. He told the victim that a Mexican drug cartel planned to kill the man and his son to extort money from them. However, in reality, Youngblood was a former used car salesman who never served in the military.

The fraudster also claimed that funds obtained from his “investors” would be paid back with significant returns on the money. Some of his victims were fellow parents of children in a local youth ice hockey league in suburban Austin, Texas.

As per the report, Youngblood even offered to let victims hold supposedly valuable items as collateral for their payments. Items such as baseball bats used by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, antique clocks, and a Confederate-era flag were used, all of which later proved to be fake. The scammer claimed these items would generate significant returns on funds.

Initially, Youngblood did provide some returns to the victims only to lull them into a false belief that their “investment” was secure. He even paid for dinners on sports road trips and gave parents gifts. He told elaborate lies about serving in the 82nd Airborne Division and Delta Force and claimed to be working as an undercover federal agent.

In one of the schemes, Youngblood showed a victim a fake document implying that the victim was being targeted and demanded money in exchange for protection. He also claimed to have access to gold bars which he said he would be selling to provide hefty returns.

Instead, Youngblood allegedly blew most of the money on junkets in Las Vegas to gamble in casinos. As per the New York Times, he once spent $700,000 at Las Vegas casinos. He was eventually raided after one of his victims complained. In the raid, federal agents also found a script that he wrote for his wife where in case she was ever confronted by law enforcement. He was eventually arrested on July 31 and indicted in August last year.

What’s Next for Youngblood?

Now that the Jury has found him to be guilty, Youngblood awaits a date to be sentenced before U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman. As per the court documents, he is facing up to 20 years in prison for each of the four wire fraud counts and for the money laundering count he faces up to 10 years in prison.