Lubbock man, 26, found guilty of using fraud to fund his lavish lifestyle
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) — A Texas man accused of defrauding at least 50 victims to fund his lavish lifestyle pleaded guilty to wire fraud in federal court on Wednesday.
J. Nicholas Bryant, 26, of Lubbock, pleaded guilty to two charges of wire fraud on Nov. 9, 2022. He now faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
According to plea documents, Bryant admitted that between 2020 and 2021, he scammed at least 50 victims by booking luxury items and services and manipulating payment platforms to appear as if his payments were forthcoming.
Bryant knew that the payment platforms would immediately send a notice to the victims confirming payments but would take several days to notify them about cancellations. Bryant exploited this to convince his victims that his payments were forthcoming when he in reality had already cancelled them.
Through his scheme, Bryant was able to take over a dozen private jet flights, a half-day sail on a yacht, several high-end hotel rooms, extravagant dinners, and five luxury vehicles worth over $500,000. He also racked up over $980,000 in labor and material costs on a home and pool.
Bryant would convince his victims to trust him by telling them his parents were wealthy oil and gas investors and that he was employed by several fake companies. He also assumed false identities, used assumed names, and created fake websites to lend legitimacy to his scams.
Bryant even convinced the owner of an oil and gas company - who had previously worked with him and trusted him - to front about $150,000 to open a fictitious oil well.
His sentencing date has not been set.