MANOR, Texas — Threats of cartel killings. High-dollar ransom demands. Junkets to Vegas.
Federal officials call it an "epic fraud case" that swept victims out of millions in Austin and beyond that is unfolding in federal court against a man from Manor.
One of his alleged victims called him “a fantastic con man.” The FBI said he often used fear of cartel violence to convince his alleged victims to pay high-dollar ransoms.
"Every word out of his mouth was a lie,” Rebecca Kumar of Cedar Park said. “Every word."
The relationships between Saint Jovite Youngblood, who was often called "Kota," and his alleged victims often started over a shared interest: their children playing ice hockey in suburban Austin.
Austin developer Eric Perardi, who built The Crossover in Cedar Park, and Ricky and Rebecca Kumar, an engineer and a small business owner, got to know the father of another player in the stands six years ago.
"[He was] one of those guys who would buy you dinner. He would rent out a whole movie theater and take you and your family to the movies. Always paying for things on road trips,” Perardi said.
"He's extremely generous and he would throw a bunch of money at purchasing dinners and doing events with people and giving fancy gifts,” Rebecca Kumar added.
Youngblood would tell stories about a life of adventure – including as a member of the Army’s 82nd Airborne and Delta Force – who now worked as an undercover federal agent.
Court documents say he also claimed to trade high-dollar sports memorabilia – including belongings of Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth – and vintage coins and antiques.
And because of his supposed top-secret government employment, his alleged victims say Youngblood always declined photographs with other parents and players.
"He didn't carry a phone, he didn't like a cellphone, he didn't like anyone around him with a cellphone,” Kumar said.
Authorities say Youngblood swindled more than 20 victims nationwide, many in Austin, out of nearly $20 million dating back to 2010 – schemes, according to court documents, that caught up to him last summer.
Youngblood is now in a federal detention facility in Waco, awaiting a trial set for April. His court-appointed attorney declined to comment to the KVUE Defenders.
FBI Agent Lindsey Wilkinson described Youngblood's alleged victims in a federal court hearing in July.
“He targeted a number of individuals from his son’s hockey team, including Mr. Perardi and others,” Wilkinson testified. “Some examples include a woman he knew from going to estate sales, he also went to a golf course, so the owners and managers, also an individual he met on an airplane.”
Perardi said Youngblood approached him in the summer of 2022, with what he described as highly classified government intelligence. It revealed that Perardi’s family was the target of Mexican drug cartels,and, through his government connections, Youngblood claimed he could protect them.
“They believed that I had all of this money because of The Crossover and other projects that I had, that I had access to these bank accounts and that I would pay a ransom and that he could protect me,” Perardi said.
The FBI said that from July 2022 through April 2023, Peradi paid Youngblood $900,000 – with a promise that Youngblood would be able to get the money back.
"You go back and forth a million times. 'Is this real? Is this not real?'" Perardi said.
Court records say Youngblood gave Perardi what he described as valuable items – including a Civil War battle flag – that Youngblood told him he could sell if he was unable to return the ransom money.
"He seemed very loving, very attentive and you just feel like he's going to help you or protect you," Rebecca Kumar said.
The Kumars say Youngblood turned to them, distraught with requests for loans to help with personal troubles.
When he did not return $200,000, Rebecca Kumar did some online research, leading her to discover news articles from more than a decade ago in which Youngblood was charged with fraud in San Bernardino County, California.
Around that time, Perardi took some of the goods Youngblood had given him for an appraisal – only to learn they had far less value. Then he went to the FBI.
As part of the investigation, agents performed an undercover sting at Carabbas in North Austin – a May 31 meeting between Peradi and Youngblood.
“There are agents inside the building, outside the building, just like you would see in the movies,” Perardi said. “And they have a wire and everything else.”
Documents say Youngblood “made false and fraudulent promises” and “obtained cash and assets from victims for his personal use and benefit.”
Investigators believe Youngblood “used the majority of the money on junkets to Las Vegas to gamble at casinos.”
Agents learned Saint Jovite Youngblood was not his birth name, and he "'falsely claimed' he was a member of the U.S. Army’s Delta Force.”
On July 31, the FBI arrested Youngblood at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, while he was traveling to Las Vegas.
At an initial hearing a few days later, with many of his victims packed the courtroom, a judge admonished the 51-year-old harshly.
“The weight of the evidence is overwhelming against you, Mr. Youngblood,” Magistrate Judge Mark Lane said. “In addition to that, the nature and circumstances of this offense – your lies, your intimidation – references to cartels over and over again.”
“This has got to be the most massive pattern of intimidation of threats and violence and death that I have ever seen,” Lane concluded.
Today, Perardi and the Kumars wonder how they could have fallen victim to a man they thought was their friend.
"It kind of sounds unbelievable that we would do that,” Rebecca Kumar said.
Now, they are left with the relationship’s aftermath – both emotionally and financially.
“That’s college money for my kids," Rebecca Kumar said. "It’s a huge loss that we can’t recoup."
"I am financially devastated right now, but I am still young enough to hopefully make it back," Perardi said.