San Antonio woman pleads guilty to defrauding investors
Defendants on bail pending trial tend to avoid further legal trouble.
In the case of Samantha L. Mueting, founder of an alleged commercial real estate company, her indictment in October for defrauding investors of more than $2.2 million did not stop her from continuing the scheme.
Less than three weeks after being charged with seven counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, Mueting convinced a Smithville firm to invest $2 million with it over a three-month period. wingspan. However, the money was never used for the stated purpose.
Last week, at a San Antonio federal court hearing originally scheduled to vacate his bail, Mueting instead pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. She faces up to 20 years in prison when she is sentenced in October.
As part of his plea deal, federal prosecutors agreed to dismiss the other pending charges and not bring any additional charges.
The plea agreement, however, shows that Mueting, 57, agreed that she owed her victims approximately $7.2 million in restitution.
She founded iCore Global, which boasted on its website that it processes more than $47 billion in transactions a year from 156 offices around the world, including San Antonio, Luxembourg and Casablanca.
In reality, iCore Global’s business address was a mailbox at a UPS store in Helotes, where Mueting resided, according to the indictment. It claimed to employ up to 5,500 agents and staff, but had never had more than six employees.
Mueting, who was CEO of iCore, had been released on an unsecured $50,000 bail until her May 18 arrest in the Houston area for alleged breach of duty.
According to a court filing that month, a probation official told the US Secret Service that Mueting had “continued to commit similar fraudulent acts”, resulting in “his new victims” losing more than of $3 million.
Mueting appeared at a June 14 bail revocation hearing in navy blue prison gear with his hands and legs shackled. But the hearing continued until June 28, when she entered her guilty plea. She was released on an unsecured bond of $50,000 pending sentencing, court records show.
One of Mueting’s attorneys did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew W. Kinskey declined to comment.
iCore had said on its website – now closed – that it provided a variety of real estate services, including investment sales, rentals, property management and construction management. He said he had been in business for over 30 years.
iCore Global offered potential clients the opportunity to invest in a hedge fund specializing in commercial real estate development. However, the money was never invested as promised.
Two other iCore officials have been charged with Mueting. Chief financial officer Josephus De Laat, 61, of Spicewood, and chief operating officer Vodrick L. Perry, 52, of San Antonio, were each charged with a single count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Perry was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. He pleaded not guilty.
De Laat has already reached a plea deal, although it remains under seal pending his July 19 plea hearing.
State business records show that iCore and related companies, including iCore Global-San Antonio, are no longer active. The San Antonio company’s corporate registration was terminated in 2014.
iCore Global, which listed a Frisco address in state business records, lost its registration in August.
Under its plea agreement, Mueting continued to market iCore under the name iCore Capital. The Smithville company wired $2 million to bank accounts specified by Mueting. Two people not mentioned in the indictment wired a total of $3 million to Mueting in late 2020 and early 2021.
“Each wire transfer was made under Mueting’s representations that wire transfers would provide access to project funding, and no victims or victimized businesses were in fact granted access to project funding or investment capital,” indicates the plea agreement.