St. Louis Co. Man Scams Almost Half Million Dollars From Victims

ST. LOUIS, MO — A St. Louis County man accused of peddling fraudulent legal services in exchange for cash, jewelry and other items of value has pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said in a statement.

David E. Schultz falsely represented himself to be an attorney, developing relationships with his victims and demanding they borrow money or sell valuables in exchange for promises to fix their legal problems. One victims, identified only as R.R. paid Schultz $50,000 for the reinstatement of his or her pharmacy license, and to broker a lab-testing contract with the Missouri Department of Corrections. Those services were never provided.

Another victim, identified as E.B. paid Schultz $81,000 to get a 2015 health care fraud conviction overturned. In July 2016, Schultz faxed E.B. forged documents indicating that the conviction been overturned.

Four more victims are named in court documents, including one that Schutz developed a romantic relationship with an promised to marry. He was a wealthy real estate investor, he told her, but that he needed to borrow money until he received payments from overseas. That wasn't true.

All totaled, Schultz bilked his victims for more than $452,000. He will face up to 20 years in federal prison, and prosecutors said they will seek restitution for his victims.

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