Sen. Carlos Uresti says he has no plans on stepping down despite being convicted of federal felonies

Federal jury finds state senator, co-defendant Gary Cain guilty on all counts

SAN ANTONIO – A federal jury on Thursday found state Sen. Carlos Uresti guilty on all 11 federal fraud charges for his role at FourWinds Logistics, a now-bankrupt oil field sand fracking company.

The jury was in its third day of deliberations when it reached its decision.

Uresti was charged with securities fraud, wire fraud and money laundering -- all federal felonies

"This is a shock to all of us. This is not the verdict we were expecting. So, I'm going to meet with my family and my wife and my attorneys, and we'll make those decisions down the road," Uresti said after the verdict.

Felons are ineligible to serve in the Texas Legislature, but the longtime lawmaker said he has no plans on stepping down from his Senate seat while he appeals the verdict.

RELATED: After today’s felony convictions, here’s what’s next for Sen. Carlos Uresti

Co-defendant Gary Cain was found guilty on all nine counts he faced.

"I think it's a somber day for the state, the city, because whenever anyone is in a public position of trust, defrauds other people, causes harm to other people, that's very sad," U.S. Attorney John Bash said of the verdict.

For each fraud related charge, the defendants face up to 20 years in federal prison upon conviction. 

For each money laundering charge, the defendants face up to 10 years in federal prison upon conviction. 

Uresti faces up to 20 years in federal prison upon conviction of being an unregistered securities broker. 

Cain and Uresti remain free on bond pending sentencing scheduled for June 25.

Uresti was legal counsel and Cain was a consultant for the company.

The lawmaker from San Antonio is accused of soliciting and lying to potential investors, bilking them out of millions of dollars in what prosecutors called a Ponzi scheme.

During closing arguments Tuesday, Uresti was portrayed by prosecutors as a desperate man who needed money to pay for his $1.2 million home and fancy cars.

Defense attorney Mike McCrum argued that the longtime lawmaker didn't intentionally do anything illegal and had no intent to commit a crime.

federal-indictment-uresti-cain-bates.pdf by David Ibanez on Scribd


About the Author:

David Ibañez has been managing editor of KSAT.com since the website's launch in October 2000.