SAN ANTONIO – Two executives of iCore Global LLC (iCore) have pleaded guilty to their involvement in a fraud scheme.
According to court documents, Samantha L. Mueting, 57, of San Antonio and Josephus De Laat, aka Jos De Laat, 61, of Spicewood defrauded investors through iCore, a company Mueting owned and operated and touted as being a multi-national commercial real estate provider. De Laat served as iCore’s chief financial officer.
Together they conspired to perpetrate a series of frauds upon couples nearing retirement. The defendants promised to allocate the victim couples’ funds into a commercial real estate hedge fund, but instead used the funds for their own personal gain. According to the indictment, they made fraudulent misrepresentations that iCore was a full service, conflict-free, commercial real estate provider worldwide.
Mueting claimed that iCore operated in at least 64 countries, with 156 offices, managed anywhere from tens to hundreds of billions of dollars in a commercial real estate investment fund and employed anywhere from 1,500 to 5,000 employees. In reality, iCore’s incorporation address was a shipping company store P.O. Box in Helotes and never employed more than half-dozen employees at any given time. In sum, the defendants defrauded investors of more than $2.1 million.
On July 1, 2022, Mueting pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. She is scheduled to be sentenced on October 4, 2022 and faces up to 20 years in prison.
De Laat pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on October 18, 2022 and faces up to 20 years in prison.
A third codefendant is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and is scheduled for trial on August 29, 2022.
U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff of the Western District of Texas and U.S. Secret Service (USSS) Special Agent in Charge Paul Duran made the announcement.
The USSS is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew W. Kinskey and Gregory Surovic are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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