SAN ANTONIO — A San Antonio former financial advisor who had an office in Boerne pleaded guilty to 10 counts for her role in a Ponzi scheme, federal prosecutors said.
Brooklyn Chandler Willy, 46, was charged with six counts of wire fraud and one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, engaging in monetary transactions involving assets derived from illegal activities, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit money laundering, according a March 20 release from Justin R. Simmons, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas.
With her guilty plea, officials with the Department of Justice said she faces up to 20 years in prison on each of the six wire fraud charges, on the one wire fraud conspiracy charge and on the one money laundering conspiracy charge.
She also faces up to 10 years for engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from the wire fraud scheme and a mandatory minimum of two years in prison for aggravated identity theft, officials said.
Sentencing is pending.
According to court documents, a probe by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigations into an investor fraud scheme in San Antonio and Lubbock alleged Willy obstructed and attempted to obstruct investigators by producing false documents in response to a federal grand jury subpoena.
Court documents show Willy owned Queen B Advisors LLC, doing business as Texas Financial Advisory and Chandler Capital Holdings.
“Among other services, TFA purported to provide asset management and financial planning services,” U.S. prosecutors said.
According to court documents, at Willy’s recommendation, a married couple invested money into an investment company named Ferrum Capital in March 2018.
“Ferrum Capital was one of four investment companies allegedly run by co-defendants Joshua Allen and Michael Cox,” prosecutors said.
“In May 2021, Willy again advised the victim couple to invest $500,000 with another Ferrum entity, using Chandler Capital Holdings as the agent to execute and deliver contracts,” federal investigators said in the news bulletin.
The investigation indicated Willy used the $500,000 for personal credit card payments, payments to other investors, and payments to another business owned and controlled by her.
According to the release, “Willy continued her scheme with additional victims. As set forth in court documents, Willy convinced a separate married couple to invest approximately $2 million in an associate’s company by promising that the investment would be used for the purchase of bad debt and other legitimate investments.”
According to the Justice Department release, “In truth, Willy used the money for her own benefit, such as payments to herself, payments to her associate, and payments to other investors. Willy also convinced two other investors to invest $75,000 and $ 600,000 respectively into what Willy claimed were legitimate business investments.”
Prosecutors said during the course of the federal investigation, Willy forged the signatures of victims on documents and provided those to federal agents for the purpose of misleading the investigators.
Court documents indicate Willy conspired with two other individuals by giving false information to investors concerning their investment.
Allen and Cox are scheduled for a jury trial in August, federal prosecutors said.
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