A former Dallas FBI agent has been sentenced to just over seven years in prison after he was found guilty of convincing a Granbury woman she was on "secret probation" and needed to pay him to stay out of jail.
William Roy Stone was immediately taken into custody after his sentencing Tuesday. He was indicted in May 2021 and later convicted on eight federal counts.
The woman, who had received a large family inheritance and was a recovering drug addict, paid Stone about $800,000, prosecutors said.
As part of the scheme, Stone made up an elaborate story about a non-existent judge in Austin and FBI analysts who were supposedly tracking the woman.
With the woman's money, Stone bought a new house and fancy cars. After years of believing Stone's story, the victim confronted him in recorded phone calls which were played for the jury.
"Was it all fake, were you just trying to screw me over and take advantage of me and take all my money?" she asked.
"You think I would do something like that, really?" he responded.
"You sure did," she answered.
Stone had retired from the FBI but never told the woman. He was charged with fraud and impersonating a federal agent.
He claimed he was really in love with her and the two had talked about getting married.
Stone, who was an Irving police officer before he joined the FBI, was convicted after a long trial last summer.
“Mr. Stone used his imposing status as a former FBI special agent to manipulate, intimidate, and steal from his victim,” said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton. “Federal agents should be pillars of integrity. When they fail to meet that standard, we will not hesitate to hold them accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
A co-defendant, Joseph DeLeon of Fort Worth, will be sentenced later.
The case was investigated by Texas Rangers and the Department of Justice Inspector General.