A federal appeals court has upheld the nine-year prison term for former NBA player and UConn star Tate George for running a real estate Ponzi scheme.
Tate George Rumors
George raised multiple issues, including claims prosecutors withheld evidence proving his innocence and that an FBI agent provided false testimony. His arguments were rejected by the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. The three-judge panel also affirmed an order mandating that George pay $2.5 million in restitution.
More than two years after his conviction in a $2 million Ponzi scheme that targeted professional athletes, former New Jersey Nets player Tate George was sentenced Thursday to a prison term nearly twice as long as his professional basketball career. The 6-foot-5 former point guard, who played professionally from 1990 to 1995, was sentenced to nine years in prison by U.S. District Judge Mary L. Cooper. George also will have make $2.55 million in restitution, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman. George was charged in a financial scam involving a bogus plan to purchase and develop real estate projects in Florida, Illinois, Connecticut and New Jersey.
Among the victims, authorites said, were Charlie Villanueva of the Dallas Mavericks and “The Apprentice” winner Randal Pinkett. George made his pitches from 2005 through 2011, according to court records, saying he had more than $500 million in assets under management.
The case apparently grew out of a 2008 lawsuit involving Brevin Knight, a former NBA player for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who sued George and the George Group over thousands of dollars in loans for a development project that were never repaid. George has been in jail since his conviction on four wire fraud counts in 2013. He represented himself while awaiting sentencing, attempting to toss out the verdict, after dismissing a series of attorneys.
Former NBA player and University of Connecticut star Tate George is in federal court in New Jersey for a sentencing hearing on fraud charges connected to an alleged Ponzi scheme. Wednesday’s hearing in Trenton is a continuation of hearings that began in December. George, who played for New Jersey and Milwaukee in the NBA, has been jailed since his 2013 conviction on four counts of wire fraud. He’s contesting how much money investors lost.
Another day passed Tuesday without a sentence in the fraud case of a former NBA player convicted of running a real estate Ponzi scheme. Former University of Connecticut and New Jersey Nets guard Tate George appeared in federal court in Trenton on Tuesday for the continuation of a hearing that spanned two days earlier this month. The parties are scheduled to return to court Wednesday morning. George has been jailed since his 2013 conviction on four counts of wire fraud. Each count carries a maximum 20-year sentence, but George is expected to face considerably less time.
