Couple charged in Ponzi scheme SAN ANTONIO, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- A San Antonio couple who bilked investors, including former New England Patriot T.J. Slaughter, have pleaded no contest to securities fraud and theft charges. Alan Keith Nelson, 63, and Mary Alice Monteza, 68, entered their pleas Monday in a scheme that bilked investors of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The couple created a fake international investment firm called Castro International that lured victims with the promise of high yields, only to disappear once they had their hands on investor cash. As a part of their plea agreements, prosecutors agreed to a maximum sentence of 18 years in prison for each defendant for one count of theft more than $200,000. The San Antonio Express-News reported prosecutors have also agreed to recommend probation for the couple if they can come up with $850,000 in restitution before they are formally sentenced in April. The Ponzi scheme came under investigation in 2009 when Slaughter filed a complaint stating that he had been conned out of $150,000.