A federal judge has ordered San Antonio attorney Edward Valdespino to deposit $5 million into a Bexar County court registry by Friday, giving him a new deadline after he failed to comply with an earlier order requiring him to deposit the money.
Florida-based I.C. Deposits Development Inc. alleges it transferred the $5 million into Valdespino’s lawyer trust account last year to be held in escrow pending a private investment transaction. It says the deal never closed, and Valdespino never returned the money. It sued him in April in Bexar County District Court, but the case was later transferred to federal court.
Biery’s order also requires Valdespino to file proof that the full deposit has been made and prohibits him from moving or otherwise disposing of the money or its directly traceable proceeds until then.
If Valdespino fails to meet the new deadline, I.C. Deposits could ask the court to hold him in civil contempt.
Biery’s order does not specify what sanctions Valdespino could face if he fails to comply.
Valdespino and Kelli Cubeta, attorney for I.C. Deposits, didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment. She previously has said in court that the $5 million has either been dissipated or is gone.
Biery’s order is the latest development in a dispute that is in its seventh month.
I.C. Deposits alleges Valdespino transferred $5 million to his lawyer trust account in September 2025 after it was promised about $50 million from a private investment transaction.
Visiting state District Judge Larry Noll issued a temporary injunction in May requiring Valdespino to deposit the $5 million into the court registry within three days. Valdespino did not do so, and the case was later transferred to federal court.
In August, Farrer sent the dispute to arbitration. Emergency arbitrator Murry Cohen then ordered Valdespino to deposit the $5 million by Aug. 31. Valdespino didn’t meet that deadline, so the case is back in federal court.
I.C. Deposits’ lawsuit is one of three currently pending against Valdespino in San Antonio federal court.
New York couple Kevin and Holly Wyse sued Valdespino in April, alleging they wired $1 million into his lawyer trust account for a purported investment program and never got their money back.
In the most recent case, R.E.H. & P.L. LLC, a Tucson, Ariz.-based private lending and project financing company, alleges in a September lawsuit that two of its investors wired $1 million in loans directly to Valdespino’s lawyer trust account at PNC Bank on April 13 to be held in escrow pending what the suit describes as a structured transaction.
The proposed transaction didn’t happen within the agreed 30-business-day period, prompting R.E.H. to repeatedly instruct Valdespino to return the escrow funds. He has refused, the suit alleges. Cubeta also represents R.E.H.
Valdespino has denied the allegations in the complaints.