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A Texas man pretending to be a highly trained special operations veteran was found guilty of defrauding victims out of millions by claiming drug cartels were targeting them and he could protect them for a steep price.
Kota Youngblood, 52, also known as Saint Jovite Youngblood, was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Wednesday in Austin for conning 32 people out of more than $12 million in a scheme dated back to at least 2010, according to the Department of Justice.
Youngblood, from Manor, a town about 15 miles outside of Austin, convinced his victims that a Mexican drug cartel was after them and offered them and their loved ones protection in exchange for money.
During a recorded conversation with an undercover FBI agent in May 2023, Youngblood said he currently “freelanced” for the Department of Defense, according to court documents.
He claimed to have served 22 years in the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and Delta Force, a highly covert and elite Army special operations force part of the Joint Special Operations Command, despite FBI investigators finding no military service records.
Investigators found that the fraudster told his victims he could protect them and their loved ones using his skills and connections as a special operator.
“Many of Youngblood’s victims were terrorized thinking their families were in danger; others lost their livelihoods to his schemes,” FBI Special Agent Aaron Tapp said.
One of his victims testified against Youngblood in federal court in Austin in Aug. 2023, saying that he had known him for around six years and their sons were on the same hockey team.
The scammer had his son tell the victim that his father needed to speak with him about a “situation” involving his ex-wife.
Youngblood then claimed that he and his family “were in grave danger,” alleging that his ex-wife was mixed up with a Mexican drug cartel.
He told the victim that his ex was attempting to have him killed to cash in on a $6.5 million life insurance policy in his name.
Youngblood then claimed he obtained audio of the ex-wife and cartel members hiring a hitman to kill him through a friend at the National Security Agency.
He then requested money from the victim to protect them and his family. The victim wrote him a $70,000 check for his fake services and later gave him two more payments of $86,000 and $83,000.
Investigators found that the scammer “targeted a number of individuals from his son’s hockey team.”
Youngblood used intermediaries between himself and his victims to conceal his activities while running his con. According to investigators, he set up in-person meetings and avoided discussing his plans over the phone or via email.
He also told his victims—who he referred to as “investors”—that the funds would be “paid back with a significant return on the money.”
Accepting check payments funneled through a business associate, he told his victims the payments to protect their families would double as business investments and give returns.
However, investigators found that the con artist gambled most of the money 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 Attorney Jaime Esparza said.
The con man was caught after the victim, whose son played on the same hockey team as Youngblood’s son, began working with the FBI after he never received his money back.
Youngblood was arrested in July 2023 at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on his way to Las Vegas.
The fraudster was placed in a Waco detention center and went to trial in April, where he was convicted of four counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.
In addition to the 480 months in prison, 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 said.
“Thanks to our partners at the FBI for their investigative efforts that assisted greatly with this successful outcome of justice.”