A San Antonio woman and former financial advisor pleaded guilty Thursday for her alleged role in a Ponzi scheme with two Lubbock businessmen.
According to the Department of Justice, Brooklynn Chandler Willy, 46, took the plea on the following 10 charges:
- six counts of wire fraud
- one count of wire fraud conspiracy
- one count of money laundering conspiracy
- one count of engaging in monetary transactions associated with the scheme
- one count of aggravated identity theft
Investigators said Willy faces up to 20 years each in federal prison on the wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy charges. Additionally, she could face additional time in prison for the engagement with monetary transactions (up to 10 years in prison) and aggravated identity theft (mandatory minimum of two years) charges.
The aggravated identity theft charge, according to the DOJ, would run concurrently with any other punishment.
The investigation
Willy owned Queen B Advisors, LLC, a San Antonio-based company that also does business as Texas Financial Advisory and Chandler Capital Holdings, according to court documents.
Records show Willy advised a married couple to invest money in Ferrum Capital, a company run by Lubbock-based businessmen Joshua Allen and Michael Cox, in 2018.
Three years later, investigators said Willy advised the same couple to invest $500,000 with another firm co-owned by Allen and Cox. Willy asked the couple to use her Chandler Capital Holdings business as the go-between the business co-owned by Allen and Cox, a DOJ news release stated.
Instead of investing the $500,000 as intended, documents show Willy used the money for personal gain, which included paying off credit card statements, paying other investors and moving some of those funds to another Willy-owned business.
Records: Another couple gave Willy $2 million+, others invested $675,000
In a January 2025 indictment, “Victim 3 and Victim 4,” which were identified as a married couple, claim that in November 2021, Willy convinced them to invest in a company called “Cold Moon Holdings,” as she told them it was a purchase of bad debt.
The married couple agreed and sent her $500,000 for their investment. In return, she sent them a promissory note that falsely stated their investment was secured by a standby letter of credit.
In March 2022, the couple re-invested in “Cold Moon Holdings” and sent her an additional $700,000, according to the indictment.
In March 2023, the couple sent an additional $810,000. Documents show they were under the assumption that they were sending their funds for another investment.
The indictment stated that Willy accumulated $2.01 million from the couple. Instead of allocating the funds toward the “investment,” she paid her associates and other investors.
Two other investors, according to the news release, gave Willy $600,000 and $75,000 in businesses she claimed were legitimate. According to the DOJ, Willy, again, used those investor funds for her benefit and gave forged documents to federal agents to throw them off the scent of their own investigation.
Further ties with Allen, Cox
Over the course of their investigation, agents said Willy gave investors false information about their money being used for legitimate business activities that were instead going to businesses owned by her and co-owned by Allen and Cox.
According to the news release, Allen and Cox are scheduled to appear in court for their own jury trial in August.
Court documents obtained by KSAT indicate Willy will learn her sentence on Sept. 28.
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