A 51-year-old man from Texas, posing as a CIA agent, managed to defraud around twenty people out of almost $20 million.
Saint Jovite Youngblood also presented himself as an expert in quantum physics, even though he was a former used car salesman from Cleveland who didn't finish high school.
Born Dennis Schuler, the father quickly became friends with his wealthy victims in an Austin youth hockey league where his son played.
For example, developer Eric Perardi's relationship turned into a nightmare for the latter when the brazen fraudster became the target of a Mexican drug cartel.
To keep the cartel in check, Youngblood persuaded Perardi to pay more than $821,600 to protect his family, the New York Post reported Tuesday, citing The Statesman.
The fifty-year-old, who gained the trust of another couple who owned a sports hall, managed to extort $200,000 from them, which he promised to pay back.
When the three victims realized they had been deceived, they discovered the rose pot, as the real Dennis Schuler had a history of criminal fraud.
According to local media, Perardi's criminal was exposed after he notified the federal agents who searched his house before he was brought to trial.
Police discovered that the 50-year-old, whose trial is scheduled for April, spent more than $700,000 at casinos in Las Vegas, they said.