SAN ANTONIO — A former San Antonio attorney, 56-year-old Christopher Pettit, is headed to prison after a jury determined he "made numerous misrepresentations that persuaded his clients to deposit money with his firm," defrauding them out of tens of millions of dollars, Justice Department officials say.
Instead of using clients' money for services like estate planning and living trusts, he instead misused the dollars "for his own enrichment" in what authorities called a Ponzi-type scheme. His crimes are estimated to have taken between $20 million and $65 million from victims. Authorities said he used that money to "support an extravagant lifestyle."
Pettit was sentenced to 50 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering in October 2023.
"This case began with one victim filing a complaint before the investigation unraveled a massive and deceptive criminal scheme," U.S. attorney Jaime Esparza is quoted as saying in the Justice Department release.
The FBI, Texas State Securities Board, Texas Department of Public Safety and Fair Oaks Ranch Police Department collaborated to investigate the case.
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