Photo: Lubbock County Detention Center
A Texas man took a page out of the books of con artists Anna Delvey and Frank Abagnale to fund his "lavish lifestyle." It didn't turn out that great, however, as the man is now facing up to 20 years in federal prison.
J. Nicholas Bryant pleaded guilty to wire fraud on Wednesday (November 9), according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. From 2020 through 2021, Bryant admitted to defrauding at least 50 unsuspecting victims. He booked luxury goods and services and then manipulated online payment platforms to make it seem like money was on the way. He used this method to secure more than a dozen private jet flights, a sail on a 90-foot yacht, high-end hotel rooms, extravagant steak and champagne dinners and five luxury vehicles that racked up a tab of half a million dollars. He also spent nearly $1 million on materials and labor for a home and pool.
"Like many of his peers, Nicholas Bryant apparently coveted the life of the rich and famous. Unlike his peers, he wasn’t about to let a lack of funds get in the way of his fantasy. Without the interference of our law enforcement partners, this defendant would be well on his way to becoming Lubbock’s Anna Delvey or Frank Abagnale," said U.S. Attorney Chad E. Meacham. As you'll recall, Delvey — who now has a Netflix show about her life — is a Russian-born German con artist who posed as a rich heiress in New York. Abagnale is another con artist who defrauded several workplaces. His story is depicted in the film Catch Me If You Can, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
To make himself seem more legit, Bryant said he was the child of parents who were wealthy oil and gas investors. He also claimed he was employed by several companies that don't actually exist. "He assumed identities of fictious persons, communicated with victims under assumed names, and even created sham websites to further his scheme. In at least once instance, he convinced the owner of an oil and gas company, who had previously worked with and trusted him, to front roughly $150,000 to open a fictitious oil well," the Department of Justice said.
Bryant's sentencing has not been set yet, but he is facing up to 20 years in federal prison.