Professor Elam

Brooklyn CHancler Willy's Firm Shuts Down

1/10/2025

Brooklynn Chandler Willy’s investment advisory firm has permanently shuttered in the aftermath of the former radio host’s arrest on obstruction of justice charges related to an ongoing fraud investigation.

San Antonio attorney Mark Barrera, who represents Willy, confirmed that, with its founder locked up, Texas Financial Advisory has closed its offices across the state.

“The business has shut down,” he said. “Brooklynn can no longer work, can no longer operate the business. That is the simple reason.”

Texas Financial Advisory’s website is no longer active and the radio shows Willy hosted on weekends on WOAI-AM, and KTSA-AM and KTSA-FM no longer air.

RELATED: Financial adviser Brooklynn Chandler Willy will remain behind bars while obstruction case unfolds

Asked if she made the decision to shut down, Barrera said, “I don’t know if I would even call it a decision, frankly.

“It’s kind of no-way-forward. She can’t operate. She’s still in the detention facility and, obviously, her future is uncertain. I think it’s sort of like a she-had-no choice kind of thing.”

FBI and IRS agents arrested Willy on Dec. 10 after a grand jury indicted her on three charges including aggravated identity theft. At a detention hearing a few days later, a federal judge ruled she should remain behind bars after concluding there was “too significant a risk” to release her.

The FBI and IRS have been investigating Willy in connection with a fraud scheme with at least 400 victims and losses in the tens of millions of dollars, IRS special agent Rebecca Jones testified at the detention hearing. The scheme allegedly involved Willy and Lubbock-based Ferrum Capital LLC.

The investigation has two prongs, Jones said. The first involves “fraud in the inducement of the investment,” such as lies told to clients about the risk and security of the products offered to Texas Financial Advisory clients. The second involves “money that was just flat-out stolen from victims.” That included money that went to other investors, making it a Ponzi scheme, the agent said.

Willy owns Queen B Advisors LLC, which has done business as Texas Financial Advisory. It had offices in Stone Oak, Boerne, New Braunfels, Corpus Christi and Victoria, according to its website. The firm reported managing nearly $118 million in assets on behalf of about 620 clients as of last month.

 

Texas Financial Advisory had an agreement with Phoenix-based Foundations Investment Advisors LLC to co-manage the investments, Barrera said. 

Barrera provided an email sent to Willy’s clients last month notifying them that the firm’s access to the accounts has been “restricted” in the wake of the criminal charges against her.

“While our understanding is that only the owner is currently charged and accused of any criminal activity and that no client facing adviser representatives of TFA are part of the criminal investigation, we have taken immediate steps to ensure your accounts are protected,” Emily Reitan, Foundations’ chief operating officer, said in the email.

Foundations, which had about $6.7 billion in assets under management as of November, is overseeing the client accounts.

“Essentially, it has severed Queen B from those relationships,” Barrera said.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s BrokerCheck website shows that three investment advisers who worked at Willy’s firm are now registered with Foundations. Those advisers are Mario Barrera, Wesley Thoms and Tammie Tirres. Mario Barrera and attorney Mark Barrera are not related.

Mario Barrera is married to Yvette Barrera, who also was an investment adviser with Willy’s firm and appeared on a television program with her promoting Texas Financial Advisory. Yvette Barrera is not currently registered with any firm, according to BrokerCheck.

Despite Texas Financial Advisory ceasing operations, at least one customer reported receiving an email from Willy on New Year’s Day.

“We’re genuinely excited about the fresh opportunities this new year brings and even more thrilled to continue our relationship with you,” Willy wrote in the email. “Your trust and support have been invaluable to us, and we are deeply grateful for your confidence in our services.”

 

Attorney Mark Barrera said he didn’t know about the email but speculated it had been pre-written and scheduled to be sent Jan. 1.

He said discussions have taken place with prosecutors regarding conditions that would allow for Willy’s release from detention as her case proceeds.  He suspected the firm’s closure will help in the effort to get her out of jail.

On Tuesday, Barrera filed a motion to withdraw as legal counsel for Willy, her firm and Yvette Barrera in civil litigation against them. With Texas Financial Advisory no longer in business, Mark Barrera said, continuing to represent them would “impose an unreasonable financial burden on me.”

He will continue to assist his father, attorney Roy Barrera Jr., in defending Willy in her criminal case.

After her indictment, lawyers representing some clients in civil lawsuits against Willy and her firm said they were advising the clients to find a new adviser to oversee their assets.

 

“We would strongly recommend that you take immediate action to remove your account from Brooklynn’s access,” San Antonio attorney Matthew King said last month. “Brooklynn’s possession of discretionary authority over those accounts creates the possibility of unauthorized activity, up to and including fraud. In other words, it might be possible for Brooklynn to effect transactions and collect fees from the accounts without the clients’ awareness.”

Jones, the IRS agent, had testified that an elderly San Antonio couple agreed to invest $500,000 with Ferrum, the Lubbock firm, using Willy’s Chandler Capital Holdings as the agent to execute and deliver the contract. However, Jones said Willy used the money to pay American Express bills, pay herself, pay one of her other businesses and pay back other clients.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the Wizard of Oz

Thursday 1/2/2025

t piece on over the rainbow, i really like this comment from Dorothy

 

'Some place where there isn't any trouble. Do you suppose there is such a place, Toto? There must be. It's not a place you can get to by a boat, or a train. It's far, far away. Behind the moon, beyond the rain.' This little scene elegantly creates a 'bridge from one place to another' from the reality of Dorothy's Kansas farm to the world of her imagination, a world that comes to life with the first two notes of 'Over the Rainbow

Joe Biden Pardons Rita Crundwell, Why?

12/15/2024

Biden Pardons Rita Crundwell

The former comptroller of Dixon, Illinois, convicted of embezzling over $53 million from city coffers, was among nearly 1,500 people who had their sentences commuted by President Joe Biden on Thursday.

Rita Crundwell, 71, served a little over eight years in federal prison for the largest municipal theft in U.S. history and was released on Aug. 4, 2021.

Crundwell has been in a halfway house since her release and had a projected release date of Oct. 20, 2029.

More:Sonya Massey's father speaks out on possible release of Grayson: 'This makes absolutely no sense'

It was the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history. The president also issued 39 pardons on Thursday.

Crundwell, who pleaded guilty, was sentenced in 2013 in federal court in Rockford to 19 years and seven months in prison for defrauding taxpayers out of $53.7 million

Crundwell used the funds to secure a lavish lifestyle that included owning champion horses, an 88-acre ranch and a Florida vacation home

Crundwell funneled city funds into a private account over more than two decades.

Dixon is a city of about 14,000 an hour southwest of Rockford.

Dixon City Manager Danny Langloss Jr. said the decision to commute Crundwell's sentence was "a complete travesty of justice and a slap in the face for our entire community."

Bond Denied For INvestment Adviser Willy

12/14/2024

A federal judge has ordered San Antonio investment adviser and financial radio show host Brooklynn Chandler Willy to remain locked up while she’s under indictment for obstruction of justice.

During a Friday court hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth “Betsy” Chestney said “there was too significant a risk” to release Willy on bond as her lawyer had requested.

Chestney’s ruling drew rousing applause from some of Willy’s clients who have been trying to get back money they’ve invested with her.

Willy, jailed since Tuesday when FBI and IRS agents arrested her at her Stone Oak office following a three-count indictment by a federal grand jury last week, appeared glum after Chestney granted prosecutors’ motion for the investment manager to remain detained. Willy, a 45-year-old Boerne resident, was in shackles and dressed in navy blue prison garb with a white long-sleeve shirt underneath. 

READ MORE: Federal agents arrest San Antonio investment adviser, radio host Brooklynn Chandler Willy at Stone Oak office

Roy Barrera Jr., a San Antonio attorney who represents Willy, expressed disappointment over the judge’s decision.

“Very disappointed for my client,” Barrera said after the hearing. “Very disappointed for my client’s family. We were not expecting this result. We hope to rectify it through our continued negotiations with the government.”

Willy’s husband, parents and two sisters attended the hearing.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Blackwell had argued for Willy’s detainment because she posed “a danger to the community.”

“This defendant, we know, is a risk to obstruct … a very serious ongoing investigation,” Blackwell told the judge. Willy created a document and falsified clients’ signatures “to try to stymie an investigation into fraud of those very clients,” he said.

“We know that she is a danger to obstruct justice because she has done it,” Blackwell added. “She did it deliberately, she did it multiple times and with multiple victims.”  

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Chestney said she’s open to revisiting her detention decision after the government takes steps to secure “the evidence, the witnesses, the documents.” She encouraged the lawyers to discuss what a reasonable timeframe for that might be.

Willy was indicted on obstruction and attempt to obstruct a criminal investigation by allegedly producing false documents in response to a federal grand jury subpoena. She’s also been charged with making a false statement and aggravated identity theft.

She owns Queen B Advisors LLC, which does business as Texas Financial Advisory, an asset management and financial planning firm. In August, Texas Financial Advisory reported managing more than $117 million in assets on behalf of about 620 clients.

She has hosted a radio program on Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings on WOAI-AM and Sunday afternoons on KTSA-AM and KTSA-FM. WOAI, however, removed the show from its online program schedule following Willy’s arrest. WOAI and KTSA officials didn’t respond to an email inquiring if they will continue to air her show. Neither news station has anything about her arrest on their websites.

Meanwhile, Willy is a defendant in at least three lawsuits — including one involving 71 plaintiffs who allege she committed fraud and violated state securities laws by selling unregistered securities. She has disputed the allegations.

In November 2023, the FBI and IRS launched a criminal investigation into an investor fraud scheme allegedly involving Willy and a Lubbock investment company, identified in the indictment as “Company 1.” 

During the hearing, Rebecca Jones, an IRS special agent in criminal investigation, testified the company is Lubbock-based Ferrum Capital LLC. The FBI and IRS’ investigation involves a “much larger investment fraud scheme” with at least 400 victims, she said.

“Losses are in the tens of millions,” Jones said. 

Clients were sold Ferrum investment products that included distressed debt, life settlements and European bonds, she said. Willy put about 200 of her clients into those products, Jones added. 

 

The investigation has two prongs. The first involves “fraud in the inducement of the investment,” such as lies told to clients about the risk and security of the products, Jones said. The second prong involves “money that was just flat-out stolen from victims.” That included money that went to other investors, making it a Ponzi scheme, she said.

San Antonio couple

Jones testified about an elderly San Antonio couple who agreed to invest $500,000 with Ferrum using Willy’s Chandler Capital Holdings as the agent to execute and deliver the contract. The two, who made the investment in 2021, are identified in the indictment as “Victim 1” and “Victim 2.”

Willy deposited the couple’s check with Chandler Capital but never sent any of the money to Ferrum, Jones said.

Willy used the money to pay her American Express bills, to pay herself, to pay one of her other businesses and to pay back other clients, Jones said. 

 

On June 11, the couple agreed to have a “monitored” phone call with Willy. Blackwell played the entire 18-minute call for the judge.

“Just to put you on the spot, you didn’t take any of our money?” the husband is heard saying to Willy.

“No, I did not,” she answered.

“Well, I’m just in a tough spot here because this represents 17 years of savings,” he said. 

The ‘loan’

Willy produced for investigators a revolving line of credit agreement and promissory note reflecting that the couple’s company had loaned $500,000 to Willy, Jones said. That would explain Willy’s personal use of the money, the agent added.

However, the couple told investigators they had never seen the document or signed it. Nevertheless, it appeared to have their signatures, Jones said. The couple also said they never would have agreed to such a loan, she added.

Jones testified the couple’s original investment agreement was executed in May 2021, but the creation date of the credit agreement and promissory note in electronic form was Sept. 18, 2024 — “the due date of the subpoena.”

The couple’s signatures on the agreement and note appeared identical to their signatures on a 2018 document, Jones said. They were sent to an FBI lab for analysis. 

The lab determined they were “duplicate signatures,” Jones said. “They were completely identical.”

Jones later said, “Mrs. Willy has a lot of power over her clients’ life savings. We’re concerned that Mrs. Willy may use this power to influence, intimidate or lie to clients to get  them to not cooperate with our investigation.”

If convicted, she could face up to 20 years in prison on the obstruction charge. Making a false statement carries a prison sentence of up to five years, while identity theft is a minimum of two years in prison — to run consecutively with any other sentence. Each charge also carries a maximum penalty of $250,000.

 

 

 

 

 

Dec 13, 2024

Chris OPettit Owes $106.3 M in Restitution

12/13/20224

 

 

Jailed ex-San Antonio lawyer Chris Pettit will owe $106.3 million in restitution to nearly 100 victims under a court order U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia is expected to sign next week.

At a court hearing Thursday, Garcia said he would adopt federal prosecutors’ recommendation that Pettit pay back 98 former clients who, in some cases, lost their life savings as a result of the massive fraud orchestrated through his law firm for years. The restitution amount each victim is owed is filed under seal with the court.

The judge agreed to the amount despite an objection from Pettit’s court-appointed public defender, Alfredo Villarreal, who argued prosecutors’ calculation of what should be owed “lacks accuracy, certainty (and) precisioness.”

“We object to the court ordering restitution in this matter on the specific grounds that the government has failed to meet its burden to prove that each and every dollar of the restitution award … is justified under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act,” Villarreal said. Garcia overruled the objection.

Pettit, 57, attended the hearing dressed in prison garb and restrained in shackles but did not speak.

READ MORE: Chis Pettit and his defunct law firm’s bankruptcies wind down as assets are sold, litigation unfolds

He was a longtime probate, estate planning and personal injury lawyer who pleaded guilty to three counts each of wire fraud and money laundering related to the theft of millions of dollars from his clients. 

In February, Garcia sentenced Pettit to 50 years in federal prison — about twice the time recommended by sentencing guidelines.

ettit has filed an appeal of his conviction and sentence but it’s been on hold pending the outcome of the restitution hearing. In an August filing, a lawyer for Pettit said she anticipated he would also appeal the restitution amount.

As part of his plea agreement, Pettit admitted the loss amount was in the range of $20 million to $65 million.

Garcia’s decision to award restitution, though, is largely symbolic. His victims don’t expect Pettit will ever pay any of what he stole.

Attorney David McQuade Leibowitz, who represents about 130 victims suing banks that did business with Pettit, called “truly tragic.”

“My clients have an ice cube’s chance in hell of ever receiving any restitution money,” he said before the hearing.

 

PETTIT TIMELINE: From ‘friend’ and ‘family confidant’ to jailed fraudster, the case of ex-attorney Chris Pettit

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Stephenson said as much during the hearing.

“I sincerely wish that there was a pot of money hidden somewhere,” he told the judge. “We have no reason to believe there is a pot of money hidden anywhere. Obviously, that is the type of thing we look for in our investigation.”

The lack of funds prompted a question from Garcia.

“Where does one go out and spend $106 million?” he asked the prosecutor.

 

Stephenson reminded the judge that prosecutors had provided details during the punishment phase of the sentencing of Pettit’s lavish spending, including millions of dollars on real estate. Pettit also collected “very expensive, very fine things” to decorate his house, including a life-size Storm Trooper figure from the “Star Wars” films.

“He was spending money in lavish, kind of over-the-top ridiculous ways,” Stephenson said.

He defended prosecutors’ efforts to accurately calculate victims’ losses, work that included going through bank records for accounts controlled by Pettit or his firm.

After his schemes were exposed in the spring of 2022, Pettit surrendered his law license, shuttered his firm and filed bankruptcy for himself and the firm. His victims have recovered little through bankruptcy proceedings and many now are pinning their hopes of some recovery through litigation with the banks.

 

Earlier this year, Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Craig Gargotta cautioned Pettit’s victims that even though they were pursuing three different tracks to recover their money — restitution, bankruptcy and litigation — they can only get “one recovery.”

 

 

 

 

 

Dec 12, 2024

SA FInancial Advisor Arrested

Friday Dec 13, 2024

Embattled San Antonio investment adviser and financial radio show host Brooklynn Chandler Willy remained behind bars Wednesday after being arrested by IRS agents at her Stone Oak office.

The arrest Tuesday came six days after a federal grand jury indicted her on three charges including obstruction of justice and aggravated identity theft. It’s the latest in a string of legal and regulatory trouble she’s faced in recent years.

Willy, restrained in shackles, made an initial court appearance Tuesday afternoon. U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth “Betsy” Chestney set a detention hearing for Friday to determine whether Willy, 45, can be released on bond. 

Chestney said prosecutors asked that she remain in custody because she poses a “substantial risk for obstructing justice.”

San Antonio attorney Roy Barrera Jr., who represents Willy, declined to address the charges against her other than to say they would be dealt with in court at the appropriate time.

“This is obviously an extreme shock to her (and) her family and we’re going to do everything we can to represent her to the best of our ability,” he said after the hearing. “We’re hoping for the best.”

READ MORE: Fraud claims mount against San Antonio investment adviser Brooklynn Willy, her firm and others

According to the indictment, which was unsealed late Tuesday afternoon, the FBI and IRS began a criminal investigation in November 2023 into an investor fraud scheme involving Willy. A federal grand jury has issued subpoenas as part of the investigation, which is ongoing. The investigation started less than 10 days after the San Antonio Express-News reported on multiple lawsuits against her.

 

Willy, owner of Queen B Advisors LLC, which does business as Texas Financial Advisory, is charged with impeding the federal grand jury proceeding by providing a false revolving line of credit agreement in response to a subpoena.

She told federal agents that a revolving line of agreement to her for $500,000 had been signed by two individuals identified as “Victim 1” and “Victim 2”, the indictment says. The two never entered into the agreement, the charging document says. Willy is charged with forging their signatures on the credit agreement and promissory note.

If convicted, she could face up to 20 years in prison on the obstruction charge. Making a false statement carries a prison sentence of up to five years, while identity theft is a minimum of two years in prison — to run consecutively with any other sentence. Each charge also carries a maximum penalty of $250,000.

Willy already is facing at least three civil lawsuits by former clients who accuse her of various wrongdoing. In one of the suits, 71 plaintiffs have alleged she violated state securities laws, breached her fiduciary duties and committed fraud.

A lawyer representing her in that ligation previously said the allegations were “unfair” and would be fought.

 

Willy appears on the radio Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings on WOAI-AM and Sunday afternoons on KTSA-AM and KTSA-FM offering financial advice to listeners.

Four years ago, she landed in the crosshairs of the Texas State Securities Board for engaging in the sale of “alternative investments” without being registered as a securities dealer or an agent of a dealer. That activity cost her her job. 

As part of the state’s disciplinary order, she agreed to a one-year suspension of her license as an investment adviser and to pay back almost $2.8 million in commissions she received from the sale of the alternative investments.

She forged many clients’ signatures on a document purportedly “waiving” their right to receive a commission refund as ordered by the state, according to the lawsuit filed by 71 plaintiffs.

She also is is accused in the suit of pitching “risky, unregistered investment contracts” by various businesses, including Lubbock-based Ferrum Capital LLC. Some of the investors’ money was used to fund loans to Austin debt collection agency Collins Asset Group LLC to buy distressed accounts receivable, also known as bad debt, the suit says.

 

Willy assured clients their investments were “safe” and profits “guaranteed,” the suit says. In reality, Ferrum was a “Ponzi scheme” and it’s unlikely investors will get their money back.

“There are $20 million worth of Willy customers who very much want to know why they sold them Ferrum notes,” said Shari Pulman, an attorney who represents the 71 plaintiffs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Delta Force Impersonator Gets 40 Years

Weekend 12/7/2024

hDelta Force Impersonator defrauds individuals with fake threats

AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas man will spend 40 years in prison after falsely claiming service in the Army’s elite Delta Force as part of a scheme to convince his victims to hand over hundreds of thousands of dollars in return for protecting their children from being abducted by Mexican drug cartels. Saint Jovite Youngblood, aka Kota Youngblood, 52, was convicted in April by a federal jury in Austin of four counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, according to the Justice Department. He defrauded 32 victims for more than $12 million, which he spent on trips to gamble in Las Vegas. In addition to the prison sentence, Youngblood was ordered to pay full restitution. “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,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas.

Read more at: https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2024-12-05/delta-force-veteran-fraud-mexican-drug-cartels-16071475.html
Source - Stars and Stripes

AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas man will spend 40 years in prison after falsely claiming service in the Army’s elite Delta Force as part of a scheme to convince his victims to hand over hundreds of thousands of dollars in return for protecting their children from being abducted by Mexican drug cartels. Saint Jovite Youngblood, aka Kota Youngblood, 52, was convicted in April by a federal jury in Austin of four counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, according to the Justice Department. He defrauded 32 victims for more than $12 million, which he spent on trips to gamble in Las Vegas. In addition to the prison sentence, Youngblood was ordered to pay full restitution. “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,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas.

Read more at: https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2024-12-05/delta-force-veteran-fraud-mexican-drug-cartels-16071475.html
Source - Stars and Stripes

AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas man will spend 40 years in prison after falsely claiming service in the Army’s elite Delta Force as part of a scheme to convince his victims to hand over hundreds of thousands of dollars in return for protecting their children from being abducted by Mexican drug cartels. Saint Jovite Youngblood, aka Kota Youngblood, 52, was convicted in April by a federal jury in Austin of four counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, according to the Justice Department. He defrauded 32 victims for more than $12 million, which he spent on trips to gamble in Las Vegas. In addition to the prison sentence, Youngblood was ordered to pay full restitution. “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,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas.

Read more at: https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2024-12-05/delta-force-veteran-fraud-mexican-drug-cartels-16071475.html
Source - Stars and Stripes

AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas man will spend 40 years in prison after falsely claiming service in the Army’s elite Delta Force as part of a scheme to convince his victims to hand over hundreds of thousands of dollars in return for protecting their children from being abducted by Mexican drug cartels. Saint Jovite Youngblood, aka Kota Youngblood, 52, was convicted in April by a federal jury in Austin of four counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, according to the Justice Department. He defrauded 32 victims for more than $12 million, which he spent on trips to gamble in Las Vegas. In addition to the prison sentence, Youngblood was ordered to pay full restitution. “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,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas.

Read more at: https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2024-12-05/delta-force-veteran-fraud-mexican-drug-cartels-16071475.html
Source - Stars and Stripes

How To Leave an Audit Trail to Convict Yourself

11/26/2024

A Tik Tok social media writer with 300,000 followers left lots of evidence on her planned theft at Target.

If you are going to become a criminal don't do it for 500 bucks.

You can't fix stupid. -

Ron White

Blue Collar Comedy Tour

Macy's Delays SEC Report as Employee hides $150 M in Delivery Expense

Wed 111/25/2024

Add Macy's to the list of companies struggling to get required SEC reports out on time.

In a news release, Macy’s said it is completing an investigation after finding “an issue related to delivery expenses in one of its accrual accounts” while preparing its third-quarter results. The company found through an independent investigation that one employee who handled “small package delivery expense accounting” made erroneous entries to hide about $132 million to $154 million in delivery expenses from the fourth quarter of 2021 through this year’s fiscal third quarter. The company said it had about $4.36 billion in delivery expenses during that time.

AZ County treasurer steals $38M

11/25/2024

Another female govt official steals big time