San Antonio CEO pleads guilty in $69.5M real estate Ponzi scheme
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - A San Antonio man has pleaded guilty to carrying out a $69.5 million real estate investment fraud scheme that federal prosecutors described as operating in classic Ponzi fashion.
Details of the $69.5M Ponzi scheme
What we know:
47-year-old Devin Ward Elder pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to one count of wire fraud.
Devin Elder
According to court documents, Elder fraudulently raised more than $69.5 million from about 345 investors between January 2023 and March 2025 through 17 real estate investment offerings.
Elder was the founder and CEO of DJE Texas Management Group LLC, a San Antonio-based investment firm formed in March 2015 that employed dozens of people. The company invested in multifamily apartment complexes, industrial flexible workspace units, land and commercial building projects, and offered investors an "Income Fund."
14 of the 17 investment offerings acquired real property, with each property held by a separate limited liability company created solely to purchase and own that asset.
Prosecutors said Elder induced investors with promises of high returns and low risk and made a series of material misrepresentations, including falsely claiming he would "co-invest" his own money alongside theirs.
Multi-million dollar investment fraud
Dig deeper:
Authorities said Elder used funds from new investors to make interest payments to earlier investors without disclosing the source of the payments. Over the 26-month scheme, investors received about $8.8 million in payments that Elder described as "interest" and "principal."
In reality, prosecutors said, much of the money came from other investors’ funds rather than legitimate investment returns.
(Photo Illustration by Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
In March 2025, Elder stopped making interest payments and notified investors that his businesses were experiencing financial difficulties, that projects would not be completed and that they should expect to lose a significant portion of their investments.
Elder was charged with wire fraud on Jan. 28 and summoned to appear in federal court on Feb. 17, when he entered his guilty plea.
Sentencing and prison time for San Antonio CEO
What's next:
He faces up to 20 years in prison. A federal district judge will determine his sentence after considering federal sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing is scheduled for the week of June 2.
The FBI investigated the case while Assistant U.S. Attorneys William R. Harris, Steven Seward and Ray Gattinella are prosecuting.
The Source: Information in this article was provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of Texas.