Former SMU student pleads in U.K.

[TexasStooge]

22-year-old accused of cybercrimes, drug dealing in Texas, abroad

By PAUL MEYER / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas/LEEDS, England - A former Dallas prep student turned international fugitive pleaded guilty Monday in England to conspiracy to defraud and launder money, British authorities said.

Douglas Cade Havard, previously a student at The Winston School and Southern Methodist University, fled the country in 2002 while facing a series of charges in North Texas ranging from drug dealing to counterfeiting.

Arrested by British authorities last summer, the 22-year-old has also been under investigation for his role in a global cybercrime and identity theft operation.

The two charges he faces in the United Kingdom carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for each, according to Felicity Bull, a spokeswoman with the English National Hi-Tech Crime Unit. Sentencing is scheduled for June 27 in Leeds, England, where Mr. Havard is jailed.

Ms. Bull declined to comment on details of the case.

But her agency has previously named Mr. Havard in connection with a conspiracy by Eastern European crime syndicates to target British banks and steal cash from customers' accounts.

U.S. authorities have a similar investigation into Mr. Havard's electronic activities. That investigation, however, has been put on hold during the overseas legal action, according to FBI spokeswoman Lori Bailey.

In North Texas, Mr. Havard could face life in prison for felony charges related to drug dealing, counterfeiting and aggravated robbery in Dallas and Collin counties.

An additional charge of organized crime likely won't be prosecuted, according to Eric Mountin, the Dallas County prosecutor for the case.

Mr. Mountin's office has completed paperwork to extradite Mr. Havard to the United States, but a date for his return has not been established.

Mr. Havard – once compared to a James Dean "on steroids" by a former prosecutor – has been the subject of growing intrigue since he left the United States.

His local attorney, Kevin Clancy, called much of the speculation surrounding his client fabrications.

"He's just an ordinary kid who doesn't do half the stuff [they've] accused him of," Mr. Clancy said.