Pleas are piling up in S.A. banking fraud case

The guilty pleas are piling up in a fraud case that the Bank of San Antonio says cost it more than $13 million.

On Wednesday, Rigo Alvarado, of Irving, became the third defendant to enter a plea. Five were indicted in the case.

Alvarado, 55, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. He will be required to make restitution.

His plea comes a little more than a month after his wife, Jill Martin Alvarado, 58, pleaded guilty to the same charge.

The couple are co-owners of a trucking company called Alvy’s Logistics.

According to the charging papers, the couple assisted Ronald “Wayne” Schroeder, the former president of a Bank of San Antonio factoring subsidiary called Texas Express Funding LLC, in providing false and misleading invoices from Alvy’s to financial institutions for factoring.

Factoring involves advancing cash to companies in return for acquiring, at a discount, the debts owed to them. This allows the companies to get money quickly instead of waiting for customers to pay their bills.

The alleged arrangement between Schroeder and the couple resulted in payments to the trucking company, the indictment says. Some of that money was turned over to Schroeder “for his own profit,” the document adds.

Schroeder is accused of using proceeds to buy automobiles, recreational vehicles, an airplane, a boat and a beach house. He faces the most serious charges of the five defendants: three counts of bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He

has pleaded not guilty.

Schroeder’s lawyers have said he is cooperating in the case.

Also indicted in the case were a mother and son, Phyllis Jo Martinez, 79, and Ryan Martinez, 56. She is the current owner and he is the former owner of a cleaning company called Nerd Factory LLC. According to the indictment, they also assisted Schroeder in providing false and misleading invoices to financial institutions to factor.

Phyllis Martinez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, too, while Ryan Martinez has pleaded not guilty.

Schroeder and Martinez have until May 13 to enter into a plea agreement. Otherwise, they are scheduled to go to trial May 25, the court docket shows.

The Martinezes and Jill Martin Alvarado were each indicted on three counts: conspiracy to commit bank fraud; conspiracy to commit money laundering; and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments — which relates to knowing property involved in a financial transaction represents proceeds from unlawful activity.

The indictments followed an August disclosure by the Bank of San Antonio that it had uncovered a $13.2 million “Ponzi-style fraud scheme” involving Schroeder.

Sentencing dates for the three who have pleaded guilty are: May 25 for Phyllis Martinez; June 1 for Jill Alvarado; and July 13 for Rigo Alvarado.

U.S. District Judge Jason Pulliam is presiding in the case. Rigo Alvarado’s lawyer didn’t respond Wednesday to a request for comment.

Each of the five defendants is free on a $50,000 unsecured bond.