Former NFL Player Will Allen Sentenced To 6 Years For Ponzi Scheme

Will Allen, a former first-round draft pick for the New York Giants who also played for the Miami Dolphins (and was technically a member of the New England Patriots, though he never played a game), has been sentenced, along to six years behind bars for his part in a Ponzi scheme that authorities say swindled $35 million from investors who thought they were lending money to pro athletes.

Allen, who retired after sitting out the entire 2012 season on injured reserve for the Patriots, was indicted in 2015 [PDF] on charges of securities fraud.

(NOTE: This Will Allen is not to be confused with the other Will Allen who played 13 seasons in the NFL, most notably for Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay.)

Allen was one of the “partners” in Capital Financial Partners (CFP), a Massachusetts company that marketed itself to “private lending to unique individuals,” namely professional athletes. Money for these loans came from investors who were to be repaid in full, plus interest, when the borrowers paid back the loans.

Federal prosecutors alleged that Allen and his colleagues at CFP diverted much of the money they received from investors to their own pockets or to pay for other business ventures. In classic Ponzi form, they then allegedly took the money from new investors to pay the existing investors.

Prosecutors also claimed that Allen and his partners lied to investors about the size of the loans they did make, skimming the difference between what the borrower received and what the investor contributed. This went on for three years until Allen was arrested in June 2015.

Allen and his co-conspirator Susan Daub each pleaded guilty in Nov. 2016 to two counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy and one count of money laundering.

In addition to the six years in jail, Allen and Daub have been ordered to pay $16.8 million in restitution to their victims.

“The defendants’ elaborate Ponzi scheme robbed many of the investors of a stable financial future,” said Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb. “The significant sentences the Court imposed today should remind investment professionals to handle their clients’ money with the transparency and integrity that the law requires.”

by Chris Morran via Consumerist