Fake Delta Force Veteran Sentenced to 40 Years
Saint Jovite Youngblood will do 40 years behind bars after convincing people he was an ex-Delta Force operative who could protect them from Mexican cartels. They paid him millions.
A federal court in Austin, Texas, sentenced Youngblood to 480 months after he was convicted of four counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering in a scheme where he convinced people that Mexican cartels were targeting them and conned them into paying money for him to protect them using his purported special operations skills.
Youngblood was arrested on July 31, 2023, and found guilty by a jury trial on April 23, according to an April 24 DOJ press release. Youngblood executed this scheme with 32 people, defrauding them of over $12 million collectively.
Along with his 480-month prison sentence, a judge ordered Youngblood to repay $12,766,384 in restitution.
Used Threats of Cartel Money to Extort Millions from Victims
Beginning in April 2021, Youngblood contacted people in Texas, telling them that they and their family members were in danger from Mexican drug cartels, according to the indictment. Youngblood told them that he served in the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and claimed to be a Delta Force operative, offering to protect his marks from these cartels. His victims were investors and other high-net-worth individuals.
In early 2022, Youngblood told one of his victims that he and his family were in danger as they had become targets of a drug cartel, according to a criminal complaint. Youngblood told the man that his ex-wife was involved in the drug trade, and she was trying to have him killed to collect a $6.5 million life insurance payout. Youngblood offered to protect the victim and his family for a costly fee.
In June 2022, Youngblood told the victim that he got proof of the ex-wife’s involvement with the cartel from a friend in the NSA and that the cartel was planning to kidnap the man’s son, according to the criminal complaint. Youngblood told the man he could protect the son, but he needed $70,000 first.
Youngblood had the man write the check out to Youngblood’s business associate, who owned an antique clock store and could deposit large checks, according to the criminal complaint. Youngblood also told the man that his money was also an investment into an antique clock and he would get a 30% return.
Fearing his children’s lives were in danger, the victim wrote multiple checks ranging from $70,000 to $86,000 and even gave Youngblood $70,000 in cash in July 2022, according to the criminal complaint.
Youngblood told the victim that he would use some of the money to buy gold coins outside of the United States and bring them to the States, where they would split the proceeds of the funds after selling the gold, according to the criminal complaint.
Social Media Posts
Youngblood convinced a second victim that Mexican cartels were also targeting him and his family, according to court documents. He also convinced the second victim to place false social media posts to appease the cartel. The social media posts bolstered Youngblood’s assertions that the first victim’s ex-wife was involved with drug dealing and the cartels. Youngblood then showed those posts to the first victim to wring even more money out of him.
In October and November 2022, that first victim paid another $117,000 to Youngblood for his “protection” from cartels. The first victim had to borrow money to make these payments.
FBI Involvement
The FBI interceded on May 1, 2023, when an undercover FBI agent spoke to Youngblood about the first victim. Youngblood told the undercover cop that half of the victim’s $12.2 million debt to the cartel had been paid, and he needed $76,000 to keep the victim’s family safe, according to the criminal complaint.
The FBI undercover involvement led to Youngblood’s arrest and subsequent conviction.
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