Manor man convicted on wire fraud, money laundering charges

A Manor man arrested in July 2023 was convicted by a federal jury Wednesday on four counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice.

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A Manor man arrested in July 2023 was convicted by a federal jury Wednesday on four counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The DOJ said between April 2021 and July 2023, 52-year-old Saint Jovite Youngblood, aka Kota Youngblood, claimed Mexican drug cartel members were planning to commit violence against his victims and offered protection from the cartels in exchange for money.

Youngblood falsely claimed to have been part of the U.S. Army’s Delta Force special operations unit to further persuade his victims he could protect them from the cartels, according to the DOJ.

“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,” the DOJ said.

The department said Youngblood faces up to 20 years in prison for each of the four wire fraud counts and up to 10 years for the money laundering count.