Clayton Iley lawyers up with attorney who represented man who killed ‘American Sniper.’
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
By SARA VANDEN BERGE
Clayton Iley, a Stephenville man accused of theft, money laundering and pretending to work in the shadows of the military, has reportedly hired Warren St. John, a high-profile attorney from Fort Worth to represent him.
Iley was taken into custody on Friday, April 24, and remains behind bars at the Erath County Jail, held on a $500,000 bond.
St. John was the lead defense attorney who represented Eddie Ray Routh, the man convicted of murdering Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield at Rough Creek Lodge in 2013.
During his trial, St. John argued that Routh was not guilty by reason of insanity, claiming he was suffering from schizophrenia at the time of the killings.
He was later found guilty.
Beneath the Surface News has reached out to St. John for comment, but has not heard back.
NEW DETAILS FROM THE ARREST WARRANT
Iley, owner of Texas Legacy Insurance Group, also claimed to be the CEO of Spartan Global Security – USA Division; CEO and commander of Black Eagle PMC Military Defense; owner of Black Ops Motorsports, Aero & Marine LLC, CEO of Black Ops Inc. and Black Ops International Inc; and a private military defense contractor.
According to the arrest warrant, Iley has never served in the military or worked as a defense contractor, but used those claims to obtain investments and donations totaling approximately $2,415,000 through a Ponzi scheme marketing a fictitious position and investment with the Department of Defense.
The following is an excerpt from Texas Ranger BJ Hill outlined in the arrest warrant:
“In response to the claims and all the above suspicious activity documented, I contacted the United States Army in Fort Hood, Texas, and spoke with Army CID and an Army Analyst.
“I asked the Army to run a check to determine if Iley was active-duty military, a veteran, or a military defense contractor.
“Army CID responded via email and stated, ‘I checked in our systems, which would tell me if the guy was ever affiliated with DoD in any service, and there are no records of Clayton Iley.
“I checked him and his businesses in SAM.gov and FPDS.gov (Federal Procurement Data System) and found no records of him or his companies registered with the federal government or having been awarded federally funded contracts.
“After learning that Iley had been lying about his military service and about being a defense contractor, I contacted an analyst with the Texas Department of Public Safety – Texas Ranger Division and requested a complete workup on Iley.
“According to the records, Iley has approximately 120 vehicles registered in his name, and approximately 62 of these vehicles have loans associated with them.
“The value of the vehicles registered to Iley is approximately $4,000,000.”
Iley is also accused of pocketing money from customers' insurance premiums, leaving some uninsured.
The Stephenville Police Department issued a fraud alert following Iley’s arrest.
If you think you have been a victim of insurance fraud, you are asked to contact the Texas Department of Insurance at 800-252-3439.
