A former Texas financial advisor and radio host pleaded guilty to six wire fraud counts and related charges Thursday in connection with a scheme to bilk investors out of several million dollars.
Brooklynn Chandler Willy, 46, faces up to 20 years in prison for each of the wire fraud charges, one wire fraud conspiracy charge and one money laundering conspiracy charge, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas.
In addition, she 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, which, by statute, would run consecutive to any other punishment," the U.S. Attorney's Office said Friday.
She apologized in court and admitted to being a "crook," the San Antonio Express-News reported. Some of her victims attended the plea hearing, and one woman told Willy that she hoped the former advisor would "rot in prison," according to the newspaper.
Willy previously pleaded not guilty after prosecutors accused her in July of participating in a Ponzi scheme with two co-defendants; all three were collectively charged with using four business entities to steal "millions of dollars from hundreds of victims."
Prosecutors accused them of convincing people to invest in the entities, lying and misleading them about the nature and security of the investments and about their high commissions.
Sentencing for Willy, who worked as an advisor for nine years, is scheduled for Sept. 28.
Willy, who hosted financial advice radio shows, is free on a $40,000 bond, the Express-News reported; her two co-defendants have pleaded not guilty.
In July, a federal grand jury charged the two Lubbock men for their alleged roles in what authorities called a massive Ponzi scheme with co-defendant Willy. The co-defendants, Joshua Allen and Michael Cox, are set for trial later this year.
Willy was charged earlier in a separate fraud case; her plea resolves both cases against her, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office told ThinkAdvisor by email Friday.
— Janet Levaux contributed to this report.
(Credit: methaphum/Adobe Stock)
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