NORTH TEXAS (WBAP/KLIF News ) – A judge sentenced a retired FBI agent to more than seven years in prison this week for convincing a Granbury woman she was on secret probation while conning her out of more than $700,000.
A jury found 65-year-old William Roy Stone guilty in August 2023 of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, five counts of wire fraud, one count of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from unlawful activity and one count of false impersonation of a federal officer.
Prosecutors said Stone and his co-conspirator 64-year-old Joseph Deleon convinced the victim that a fake federal judge appointed the two of them to administer the conditions of her “secret probation.”
They made her text them written reports about her daily activities, pay them for their supervisory services as well as any other expenses they incurred.
Prosecutors presented jurors with copies of several six-figure checks she wrote to them. In an eleven-month span, the victim gave Stone more than $700,000 and DeLeon more than $50,000.
The two banned her from disclosing her probation status to anyone and told her she would risk going to prison and lose her children if she did not comply.
Prosecutors said Stone and DeLeon monitored her cell phone communications, put her under surveillance and enlisted another person to impersonate the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration “Intelligence Center,” in a message inquiring about the victim.
The two even urged her to distance herself from her family, claiming her family wanted to take her inheritance and persuaded her to transfer her inherited assets out of a trust and into an account under her own name.
At one point, they claimed Judge Anderson would discharge the victim’s probation if she agreed to marry Mr. Stone. Mr. DeLeon even carried a weapon in the victim’s home while purportedly providing “protective services” for her.
Stone’s co-conspirator DeLeon was also convicted at trial of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. His sentencing is scheduled for March 5, 2024.
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