A Houston-area social media influencer who touted herself as an expert in how to land the perfect man pleaded guilty to duping followers and acquaintances into bogus real estate deals and was sentenced to five years in prison, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Thursday.

Mikki Lynn Fox, 41, known on YouTube as lifestyle and dating consultant Michaela Pink and, more recently, Summer Black, pleaded guilty to aggregate theft in the 179^th District Court for swindling eight investors out of a total of $136,624. The second-degree felony carried a possible sentence of two to 20 years in prison.

“This defendant used her online platform to gain the trust of unsuspecting victims and steal tens of thousands of dollars of their hard-earned money,” Ogg said. “Thieves are crafty and clever in coming up with new ways to commit their crimes, and we will use every means at our disposal to stop them.”

From March 2015 to July 2020, Fox lured people in Texas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and California into different types of fraudulent real estate investments. Some she scammed locally, including parents whose children played baseball with hers; others had contacted her after seeing her online videos offering dating advice.

Fox would ask her targets to invest $35,000, for example, to help her buy a house to flip, claiming it would sell quickly. She promised to return their principal investment and a share of the profits. In the meantime, she would pay interest in tiny increments to keep them from suspecting anything was amiss.

When the investors later asked for their money, Fox made excuses for why the property wasn’t yet on the market – and then stopped returning their calls.

“She was very charming. People would look her up online and say, ‘Oh, she is somebody.’ No, she just created that persona,” said Sheila Hansel, assistant district attorney in the DA’s Office’s Consumer Fraud Division, who prosecuted the case.

But anyone looking to invest with someone they don’t know should go beyond a simple Google search. Hansel urged Harris County residents to learn as much about the person as possible on their own and to have an attorney or real estate agent look over any paperwork beforehand.

“Don’t give strangers your money. And everyone you know only online is a stranger,” she said.

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In the coming fiscal year beginning in September, the Railroad Commission will continue its strong work to improve transparency and build upon efforts that protect public safety and the environment in its oversight of the oil and gas industry.

Commissioners on Tuesday approved the Fiscal Year 2023 Oil and Gas Monitoring and Enforcement Plan, which outlines strategic priorities and provides statistical data highlighting the agency’s enforcement efforts, including violations cited by rule.

Among new information in next year’s plan is an expansion of statistical data to include the previous fiscal year for progress and comparison purposes.

The plan explains RRC’s inspection processes and enforcement procedures and affirms the agency’s commitment to inspecting every oil and gas facility at least once every five years.

“Texas’ oil and gas industry has become increasingly more important to maintain economic stability in the nation during global conflicts,” said Wei Wang, RRC Executive Director. “The RRC is also committed to ensuring any expansion of oil and gas in the state is done responsibly in a manner protective of Texans and the environment, which the Oil and Gas Monitoring and Enforcement Plan helps to ensure.”

Plugging orphaned wells is a critical component of the RRC’s mission to protect public safety and the environment. The State Managed Plugging Program, which has exceeded legislative goals for five consecutive years, has the goal to plug another 1,000 orphaned wells in fiscal year 2023 using state appropriations funded with revenue from the oil and gas industry. FY 23 will also include an infusion of federal infrastructure funding that should result in the plugging of up to an additional 800 orphaned wells.

In the next fiscal year, the RRC will deploy knowledge from its strategic analysis of flaring data. The resulting study will evaluate additional measures the agency can take on flaring and clarify any data discrepancies. Findings, including any recommendations for regulatory or statutory changes, will be shared with the Legislature and the public.

The agency is continuing to update its computing systems, which will result in more information being available online. Also, in the interest of transparency, the agency plans to provide more information via its social media channels demonstrating what oil and gas inspectors do, including how potential violations are cited.