Celebrities among those bilked by Houston lawyer’s scam
A case including celebrities such as Tiger Woods and Chuck Norris, plus a $29,000 Rolex watch and the complexity of consolidated subprime mortgage investments ended in Houston on Tuesday with a 22-count guilty verdict against a Houston lawyer.
Ted Russell Schwartz Murray, owner of Premiere Holdings real estate investments, was found guilty by a jury in U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore’s court of conspiracy, fraud and filing false tax returns.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Cedric Joubert told jurors that Murray and his two co-defendants, who entered into plea bargains and testified against him, stole $67 million from wealthy investors including Norris, Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, retired baseball player Vince Coleman and others.
Murray and his co-conspirators promised investors high interest, low fees and quick cashouts, but instead stole most of their money, the prosecutor said.