It’s a guilty plea from an Elkhart man facing fraud charges after prosecutors say he stole more than $300,000 dollars from people he tricked into phony real estate investments.

Charles Ray Smith appeared in U.S. District Court earlier this week.

According to court documents, Smith has also been accused in a murder-for-hire plot.

He’s due to be sentenced in May and is expected to pay restitution to the victims conned out of their money in addition to time behind bars.