Ex-FBI agent convicted of convincing woman of ‘secret probation,’ conned her for $700K
A retired FBI agent was convicted of conning a North Texas woman out of $700,000 by convincing her she was on “secret probation,” Leigha Simonton, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, announced in a news release Thursday.
William Roy Stone, 64, was indicted in May 2021. A jury convicted him of one count of wire fraud conspiracy, five counts of wire fraud, one count of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from unlawful activity, and one count of false impersonation of a federal officer.
His co-conspirator, Joseph Eventino DeLeon, 64, was also indicted in December 2021 and was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
According to evidence presented at trial, Stone convinced a woman from Granbury, Texas, referred to as “C.T.,” that she was under “secret probation” for federal drug crimes in “Judge Anderson’s court in Austin, Texas.”
Stone and DeLeon told the woman that the made-up judge appointed them to administer the conditions of her six-year “secret probation,” according to the release. The two of them had C.T. text them reports of her daily activities. They also had her compensate them for their “supervisory” services, the release said.
The woman gave Stone more than $700,000 and DeLeon more than $50,000.
Stone and DeLeon told C.T. that if she told anyone about her probation and if she violated the terms of her probation, she could possibly be imprisoned and lose her children, according to the release.
In a recorded phone call time, C.T. began questioning her probation and told him, “I even looked up Judge Anderson in Austin and the Anderson that pulls up ... There’s not one,” to which he responded, “Bye,” according to evidence presented at trial.
To further convince C.T. that her probation was real, Stone and DeLeon monitored her communications through her cellphone, conducted surveillance video, told her that they discussed her probation with a psychiatrist, had another person impersonate an employee with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and staged calls with the made-up judge, according to the release.
Stone faces up to 158 years in federal prison; DeLeon faces up to 20 years in prison.
