In San Antonio today, 54-year-old Armando Jesus Hernandez Leal of Shavano Park, TX, was sentenced to 170 months in federal prison in connection with a multi-million dollar investment fraud scam announced United States Attorney Richard Durbin, Jr., FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs, San Antonio Division and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge William Cotter.
In August 2015, Hernandez pleaded guilty to a federal money laundering charge. By pleading guilty, Hernandez admitted responsibility for managing an estimated $80 million investment portfolio of a Mexican businessman and his family from 2005 to 2014, but had not invested his clients’ money like he had agreed. Hernandez spent their money to purchase homes, planes and other assets for his personal use.
In addition to the prison term, Senior U.S. District Judge David A. Ezra ordered Hernandez to pay restitution to his victims in the amount of $25,434,939.53 and be placed on supervised release for a period of three years after completing his prison term.
“The defendant’s investment scheme represented one of the deepest betrayals of trust and friendship, committed for sheer greed to finance his lavish and extravagant lifestyle. Moreover, the devastating financial losses suffered by the victims were not inherited wealth; rather, they were the result of a family’s hard work and sacrifice, over several generations,“ said FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs.
“Today’s sentencing of Armando Hernandez Leal should be a reminder to those individuals who are looking for financial advice. You should take as much care in choosing this person or company as you would in choosing a doctor or a lawyer,” said Special Agent in Charge William Cotter of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, San Antonio Field Office. “Mr. Hernandez Leal’s decision to use his investors’ money to line his own pockets is a serious offense and the punishment must be as serious as the crime.”
This investigation was conducted by special agents from the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Russ Leachman and Greg Surovic prosecuted this case on behalf of the Government.