San Antonio attorney Robert Jeffrey Mueller has turned down a federal plea deal and is betting his future on a jury instead. On Monday, April 6, 2026, Mueller rejected a government offer to plead guilty to a single count of wire fraud, choosing to take his chances at trial later this year on criminal charges tied to the collapse of his Deeproot investment funds. The move shifts a years-long legal saga, already packed with an SEC enforcement case and Chapter 7 bankruptcy battles, onto a high-stakes criminal timeline that could determine whether hundreds of San Antonio-area investors see any real money back.
During a hearing before U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez, Mueller declined prosecutors’ proposal to admit guilt to one wire fraud count, a deal that federal guidelines pegged at roughly 10 to 12½ years in prison. He told the court he understood what he was risking by saying no. A superseding indictment filed last month now has him facing five wire fraud counts, and prosecutors said a conviction on all of them could translate into roughly 27 to nearly 34 years behind bars under the guidelines. Mueller remains free on a $25,000 unsecured bond, according to the San Antonio Express-News.
The Securities and Exchange Commission says Mueller raised about $58 million from nearly 300 investors through pooled funds that supposedly bought life-insurance "life settlements." Instead, regulators allege, large chunks of that cash were funneled into affiliated businesses and personal spending. Public SEC filings report that more than $30 million went to companies Mueller controlled and that roughly $1.5 million covered personal expenses such as weddings and vacations, according to the SEC. The agency is still pursuing disgorgement and civil penalties in federal court.
From Pinball Dreams to Bankruptcy Court
Mueller’s Deeproot empire did not stop at financial products. It also spawned Deeproot Pinball, a hardware and development outfit that was building an ambitious game called "Retro Atomic Zombie Adventureland" before the whole operation unraveled in late 2021. The pinball pivot and rapid collapse were followed by a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, where creditors and a court-appointed trustee launched litigation to claw back whatever assets they could. In recent court filings, the trustee’s complaints include damage claims reported as high as $72 million. The pinball chapter and resulting trustee lawsuits have been detailed by the San Antonio Business Journal.
What Investors Have Gotten Back So Far
The numbers so far are sobering. Bankruptcy records show the Chapter 7 trustee has collected about $4.11 million net, a small fraction of what investors say they put in. That leaves the vast bulk of the alleged losses uncovered and creditors staring at major shortfalls. In parallel, the SEC has asked the court for more than $52 million in disgorgement plus roughly $16.6 million in prejudgment interest, figures laid out in public filings in the civil enforcement case.
Legal Outlook
Each count of wire fraud under federal law carries a statutory maximum of up to 20 years in prison. Sentencing ultimately depends on the federal guidelines and how the judge applies them to the case. By walking away from a one-count plea, Mueller now faces a jury trial with multiple counts, the possibility of consecutive sentences, and a higher guideline range if he is convicted on more than one charge. Meanwhile, the SEC’s civil action and the bankruptcy trustee’s recovery efforts will move forward on their own tracks, all of it feeding into the bottom-line question of how much money, if any, investors will ever see again.
For victims and other creditors, the next key moments will come as the court sets a trial date, pretrial motion deadlines, and schedules that shape how fast the civil recoveries can proceed. Many investors say they were promised steady returns and instead watched retirement savings vanish. For them, the criminal trial now looms as the pivotal chapter in a saga that has already dragged on for years.
