Sentencing was delayed until December 14 for Brooklynn Chandler Willy, an affiliate of Lubbock-based Ferrum Capital.
No reason was given in the order and no request by prosecutors or her defense attorney was listed in the court docket.
Previously she was scheduled for sentencing on September 28 – having pleaded guilty in March to charges that included wire fraud.
She was accused in lawsuits, along with Lubbock businessmen Joshua Allen and Michael Cox, of using Ferrum to conduct a Ponzi Scheme that took nearly $68 million from hundreds of victims – often in the Lubbock and San Antonio areas.
Allen and Cox are set to go on trial August 10 in San Antonio. Federal prosecutors indicted them on charges of securities fraud and conspiracy. Neither side in that case has indicated a plea deal will happen.
Quick description of Ferrum
Allen and Cox cofounded Ferrum in 2017 according to state records.
Court records in the ongoing criminal case said, “Investors were told their money would be used to purchase bad debt through Austin-based company Collins Asset Group (CAG).”
CAG borrowed money from Ferrum to purchase this “bad” debt for pennies on the dollar. If CAG could collect, then everyone would make money, investors were told.
“As part of their pitch, the Defendants routinely told investors their money was safe with CAG, that CAG had never missed a payment, and they were at little to no risk of losing their principal,” federal prosecutors wrote.
CAG defaulted with Ferrum in late 2023 and filed for bankruptcy last year.
Control of Ferrum was taken away from Allen and Cox – instead placed under a court-ordered receivership in one of many lawsuits.
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Willy background
Willy was a San Antonio financial adviser and radio host. She was a source of investors for Ferrum in the San Antonio market through her radio show and her businesses – Queen B Advisors, Texas Financial Advisory and Chandler Capital Holdings.
A federal indictment was not her first brush with trouble.
Willy made an agreement with the State Securities Board in 2020 which included a one-year suspension of her registration with the board. She was ordered to pay back $2.75 million in commissions to her customers.
The Texas State Securities Board said in a written statement Willy did not conduct a “reasonable level of due diligence” before selling alternative investments.
“In fact, in some instances, she recommended that conservative, unsophisticated investors allocate nearly half of their liquid assets in private, illiquid alternative investments,” the board statement said.
Willy was indicted in late 2024. She was reindicted last year – this time alongside Allen and Cox.
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