A retired FBI agent is accused of conning a Texas woman out of more than $800,000 by convincing her she was under “secret probation” for drug crimes, federal prosecutors said.
William Roy Stone Jr., 62, was indicted last week on seven counts of wire fraud and one count each of wire fraud conspiracy, false impersonation of a federal officer, engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from unlawful activity and false statements to law enforcement, according to a release from Prerak Shah, the acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas.
If convicted, Stone faces a sentence of up to 178 years in federal prison.
He made his initial appearance in court on Friday, Shah said in the release.
Stone is accused of telling a Granbury woman, identified in court documents at C.T., that she was under "secret probation" for drug crimes in Austin, Texas, according to the indictment.
Stone told C.T. that he had been assigned to her as a mentor and supervisor, and that she had to report her activities and assets to him, prosecutors said. She had recently inherited money from a grandmother.
He told her that she had to pay expenses related to supervise her, including for travel, a house and vehicles, according to the indictment. He also convinced her to pay money he claimed was "restitution" for a wronged company, which he deposited into his own bank account, prosecutors said.
He repeatedly threatened her with prison time, and said she would lose her children if she did not comply with his demands, according to authorities.
Stone told C.T. that she was not to share her probation status with anyone, the indictment said.
He told her he could monitor her cellphone communications, placed "spoof" calls to C.T. while pretending to be a judge monitoring her case and had someone else place fake calls claiming to be from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the indictment said.
At one point, Stone even proposed to marry C.T., saying he would ask the judge to drop her probation.
C.T., over the course of several years, paid Stone more than $800,000, prosecutors said.
Stone pleaded not guilty on Friday, according to court documents. He is not in custody, as a judge ruled he could remain free during the case as long as he complies with certain conditions, Gregg Gallian, whose firm is representing Stone, told NBC News. It was not immediately clear Tuesday what those conditions were.
Gallian added in a statement that he is not commenting on the case specifically.
"However, I can say that Mr. Stone will clear his name in the courtroom and, in doing so, will bring the actual facts of this case to light," Gallian said. "There is much more to this story.”
