Former NBA player Tate George was sentenced to nine years in prison last Thursday, Jan. 21, for organizing and running a real estate Ponzi scheme. According to a report by NY Daily News, a federal judge in Trenton, New Jersey, also ordered George to pay $2.5 million in restitution and serve an additional three years of supervised released.
George, who played for the New Jersey Nets and Milwaukee Bucks between 1990 and 1995, founded The George Group, a real estate firm based in New Jersey, after his retirement from professional basketball. In 2013, he was convicted on four wire fraud counts, for luring investors over bogus plans to develop real estate properties in various states.
He told his investors, most of whom were his colleagues from the NBA, that he had more than $500 million in assets under management. In actuality, prosecutors discovered that his firm had no income-generating operations. According to NJ.com, George used the money from investors to spend on his own home renovations and other luxuries.
His victims included Charlie Villanueva of the Dallas Mavericks, Brevin Knight of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Randal Pinkett of the reality show "The Apprentice."
"In this case, George relied on his sports stardom to attract unwitting investors," U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman said in a statement. "His crimes justified today's lengthy sentence."
"There was a saying about Michael Jordan that you couldn't stop him - you could only contain him. That is exactly Tate George. You know that he will commit more crimes," Assistant U.S. Attorney Zach Intrater said during the hearing.
However, up to the last minute, George reportedly maintained his innocence and did not issue an apology. He insisted that his real estate ventures were not a scam, just "delayed."
"For the umpteenth time, I'm sorry - I'm sorry the projects got delayed," he said.