SEC: Local Man Used Phony Cred to Steal Real Millions From Former Dallas Cowboy, 12 Others

​According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Christopher Love Blackwell was -- and remains -- a very good salesman. He told would-be investors he had master's degrees and a PhD from a "prestigious university in Spain." He told them he was a veteran trader. He said he's worked at both Goldman Sachs and The Bank of Madrid. And, Blackwell told them, if they just gave him their money to invest in, among other things, fixed income trading programs, hedge funds, movie distributors, even jet fuel, they would become rich. They would pocket, Blackwell told his would-be investors, "risk-free returns" of "25 to 30 percent per month with regularity." Just by handing over their hard-earned.

Except, says the SEC in documents filed in Dallas federal court yesterday, none of it was true -- not the education, not the experience, certainly not the investments. Say the feds, Blackwell -- who lived in Euless, operated out of Colleyville and was last seen living with his father in New Mexico -- bilked 13 investors out of $4 million. And among those swindled, says the complaint, was an unnamed former Dallas Cowboy, who, say the feds, met Blackwell through a former teammate. The Cowboy is referred to in court docs as Investor C, who wired Blackwell $250,000 -- which he then gave to a friend in Phoenix "to purchase a music and movie catalog." The rest, say the feds, went to pay bills for Blackwell and his family and friends.

In the complaint that follows after the jump, the SEC says Blackwell came to its attention only after the Department of Homeland Security noticed large wire and cash transfers -- the red flag of terrorist organizations. But "after DHS conducted a preliminary investigation," says the complaint, "it became clear to the DHS agents that Blackwell was not a terrorist -- just a thief." At which point a DHS undercover, posing as a potential investor, met with Blackwell to figure out what he was up to. Promises were made; so too, audio and video recordings. That was in February of last year. At a Hooters. SEC v CHIRSTOPHER LOVE BLACKWELL