A man in Georgia was sentenced to 12 years in jail for cheating millions of dollars from a possible member of the Basketball Hall.
The three -time defensive player of the year Dwight Howard testified in the court that gave Calvin Darden Jr. $ 7 million, thinking it was an investment for the purchase of the dream of Atlanta of the WNBA.
Howard, eight times All-Star, learned that Darden was not owner of the team when ESPN reported that the team had been sold to a group of investors.
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Dwight Howard by Orlando Magic argues a call during a preseason game against the Miami Heat at the Amway center on December 21, 2011 in Orlando, Fla. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
The prosecutors said Darden and a sports agent also cheated the former NBA player Chandler Parsons to send $ 1 million who was supposed to help in the development of James Wiseman, who was recruited by the Golden State Warriors as the second general selection in the NBA Draft of 2020.
But the two did not know Wiseman, and the player never agreed to be represented by the agent, since they affirmed Parsons. Wiseman played for the last time for the Indiana Pacers before being changed to the Toronto Raptors, who renounced him earlier this year.
A Judge of the Federal Court of Manhattan ordered Darden on Thursday to lose $ 8 million and several luxury items that acquired with his bad profits obtained, including an Atlanta mansion of $ 3.7 million, $ 600,000 in works of art of Jean-Michel Basquiat, a Lamborghini and a Rolls-Royce.
Dwight Howard by Los Angeles Lakers heats up before a game against Toronto Raptors in Scotiabank Arena on March 18, 2022 in Toronto. (Cole Burston/Getty Images)
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Darden was convicted of a jury in October of cable fraud, bank fraud and money laundering charges.
He was previously sentenced to a year in a federal prison in New York for making his father, Cal Darden, former executive of United Parcel Service, based in Atlanta, in a failed bet to buy Maxim magazine.
Dwight Howard by Los Angeles Lakers during a game against Orlando Magic on January 21, 2022, at the Amway Center in Orlando, Fla. (Gary Bassing/NBAE through Getty Images)
Atlanta’s dream was once co -owner by former American republican senator Kelly Loeffler, but was pressed to sell after facing players for his opposition to the racial justice initiatives of the League.
Howard was the first election of the 2004 NBA Draft by Orlando Magic.
