Fake CIA agent dupes wealthy Texans out of nearly $20M

A brazen Texas conman posing as a high-ranking CIA agent managed to swindle nearly $20 million out of more than 20 friends and associates over several years, according to federal prosecutors.

To his upscale circle of friends in Austin, Saint Jovite Youngblood was a cosmopolitan lawman with a master’s degree in quantum physics.

In reality, he was a former used car salesman from Cleveland who never advanced beyond high school.

But the 51-year-old married dad managed to bilk a long list of associates — some of whom lost everything — and the sprawling scheme astonished federal prosecutors, who deemed it nothing short of “epic.”

Born with the decidedly less exotic-sounding name of Dennis Schuler, Youngblood befriended many of his wealthy victims in an Austin youth hockey league where his young son played.

It was there that he met successful local developer Eric Perardi in 2018. He regaled him with stories from his days as a member of the elite Delta Force, spicing his anecdotes with tales of danger and bravery.

But the relationship took a sinister turn when Youngblood — who convinced Perardi that he held CIA clearances at the highest levels — gravely informed his friend that he was being targeted by a Mexican drug cartel.

According to federal court papers, Youngblood told Perardi that his ex-wife was colluding with narco-traffickers to cash in on his $6.5 million life insurance policy and that he and his family were in imminent danger.

He even authored ominous social media posts targeted at Perdardi and told him the cartel was behind them, according to the Austin-American Statesman.

The only way to keep the killers at bay, he said, was through cash payments.

All told, Perardi signed over $821,600 to Youngblood to keep his family safe.

“All I can say is, ‘wow,’” US Magistrate Judge Mark Lane told the defendant in an August detention hearing, according to The Statesman.

“The number of lies, the depth of those lies, is beyond anything I have ever heard.”

The outlet spoke to another couple who were beguiled and then bilked by the charismatic local dad, Ricky and Rebecca Kumar.

After burrowing his way into their confidence, Youngblood asked Ricky, an engineer, and Rebecca a small gym owner, for financial help. They would end up giving him $200,000 that he pledged to pay back.

One sum was going to address a blackmail case with his ex-wife, while the other was to secure precious family heirlooms at the center of an ownership dispute.

“It kind of sounds unbelievable that we would do that,” Rebecca Kumar told The Statesman. “You have to understand how he molds his relationships with people and how he just tries to continue to build this trust. He is a master storyteller and a fantastic con man.”

But inwardly, Youngblood’s circle harbored growing suspicions about their large-than-life friend.

Claiming his federal missions necessitated extreme caution, he never carried a cellphone and rejected any attempt to take his picture.

Perardi — who ultimately had to sell his home because he could no longer afford his mortgage thanks to Youngblood’s depletions — ultimately did some digging.

The Kumars — who lost their kids’ college fund to Youngblood — also took a pickaxe to his facade.

Both parties would soon realize that the persona was a tissue of brazen lies. The real Dennis Schuler had a past littered with criminal frauds, schemes and impoverished former friends.

Perardi eventually worked with federal agents to trap Youngblood, wearing a wire during a lunch in Austin. Youngblood was recorded telling Perardi that he was still under threat from the cartel — and needed to pull out his checkbook once again.

Agents eventually raided his home, where they found a script he wad written for his wife in case she was ever confronted by law enforcement.

Youngblood — who blew more than $700,000 at Las Vegas casinos during his thieving spree — was indicted this past August and has a trial date set for April.

“It was such a mixed reaction,” Perardi told The Statesman of being in the courtroom with other alleged victims of Youngblood.

“You feel foolish, like, ‘How did I let this person dominate my life for so long?’ But then I was just disgusted. Just the lies and destruction.”