Infamous Sports Scams

Photo: James Lauritz | Digital Vision | Getty Images The lifestyle of a sports star may seem glamorous, with money, cars, homes and parties in droves, but it has its downside. Athletes are in the limelight, and their millions are on display for the entire world to see. Sports stars can be easy targets for financial scams — as these cases prove. Click ahead to see some of the most infamous financial scams involving sports stars. By Tonya AlexanderUpdated 11 March, 2011

Photo: Sean Penello William “Boots” Del Biaggio III was a hockey team owner skating on thin ice. His insatiable desire to be a sports mogul caused him to commit a multimillion-dollar fraud.Federal authorities accused Del Biaggio, a former Silicon Valley venture capitalist and part owner of the Nashville Predators hockey team, of defrauding investors and using the money to buy his $25 million stake in the professional sports team, according to The New York Times.The Securities and Exchange Commission said in a complaint filed in Federal District Court that Del Biaggio, also known as Boots, also used the money to pay off gambling debts and maintain a lavish lifestyle and luxury home in San Jose, Calif.He pleaded guilty to one charge of forging financial documents to obtain $110 million in loans from several banks and two NHL owners — Craig Leopold of the Minnesota Wild and Los Angeles Kings owner AEG.In September, 2009, Del Biaggio was sentenced to more than eight years in prison.Watch the complete story of "Boots" Del Biaggio on CNBC's American Greed, Wednesday, March 16 10p | 1a ET

Photo: Larry Kolvoord/Austin American-Statesman | Insets: Getty Images When Texas investment firm Triton Financial wanted to solicit business from professional athletes, it hired a bevy of former NFL players to help make the pitch. The firm's roster included former NFL quarterbacks Jeff Blake (inset, left) and Ty Detmer (inset, right), Koy Detmer and Chris Weinke.In December 2009, Triton Financial was sued by the SEC for defrauding investors in a multimillion dollar insurance scam. The SEC's lawsuit focused on Triton Insurance, the firm's main fundraising vehicle, which raised $8.4 million from 90 investors between July 2008 and October 2009.These investors were initially told their money would be used to buy a specific insurer, but the acquisition was put on hold. Funds were instead used to pay bills for Triton and its affiliates, the SEC said.Texas State Securities Board spokesman Robert Elder said Triton had engaged in a "shell game" that shifted investors' money from one entity to another without permission.In February, a federal grand jury indicted Triton's former CEO Kurt Barton on charges including money laundering, wire fraud and securities fraud.

Photo: KETV.com, Insets: Getty Images When a former teammate recommended to Atlanta Falcons superstar Michael Vick, (inset, right) that he hire Mary Wong to act as his business manager, he jumped at the opportunity. After all, the former teammate, Demorrio Williams (inset, left), had become Wong's business partner, along with two other NFL players, brothers Josh and Daniel Bullocks. But that was before Wong was indicted for allegedly stealing $3 million from eight of her clients in a Ponzi scheme. Wong, who had been permanently barred from trading securities in 2007, told clients she was investing their money in real estate, Gallup bonds and other vehicles, promising returns of at least 8 percent.In 2009, Vick sued Wong for more than $2 million, alleging she transferred funds from his bank accounts, sold his Georgia income tax credits and transferred money from his pension fund that could have led to financial penalties. Wong pleaded guilty in September, 2010, to securities, wire and mail fraud. She was sentenced in December to five years, three months in federal prison and ordered to pay $3 million in restitution.

Photo: WAVY-TV | Inset: Getty Images Michael Vick (inset) put himself in financial jeopardy yet again when he was serving 23 months in Leavenworth for dogfighting conspiracy. That's when con man David Talbot approached him, claiming he was an expert financial manager and would be able to manage Vick's business affairs while seeking restoration for his losses.Vick agreed and, according to ESPN.com, "Talbot started by taking one of Vick's cars, an  85,000 Mercedes Benz, to use in his efforts, and he used $35,000 to pay the out-of-pocket expenses of his attempts to find Vick's money. That wasn't all. He was to be paid $15,000 per month for his efforts, too."Unbeknownst to Vick and his lawyers, Talbot filed for bankruptcy in 2002, allegedly falsified his resume, and was accused of  defrauding members of his church in New Jersey of $500,000. On Sept. 5, 2009, Talbot appeared before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Santoro, but declined to answer questions, invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

Marc Dreier's $400-million fraud scheme is fit for Hollywood. The CEO of Dreier LLP was a prominent Manhattan lawyer with high-profile clients such as retired NFL star Michael Strahan (at left, with Dreier) and former News Corp. executive Judith Regan. Dreier partied with celebrities and co-hosted annual charity golf tournaments with Strahan. To maintain his status and lavish lifestyle, he sold fictitious securities to hedge funds and other investors by creating fake financial and accounting documents. He paid people to impersonate hedge fund executives to make investors believe their securities were genuine, and he transferred his clients' escrow into his own personal account. In December 2008, Dreier was arrested in Canada, where he was caught impersonating an officer of the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison for fraud.

Photo Credit: Getty Images In March 2010, Travis Jones, assistant defensive coach for the New Orleans Saints (pictured), was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in a real estate swindle case in Texas. His attorney, Jason Kreiss, claimed Jones was the victim of a scheme by businessman John Barry, who had a previous conviction for real estate fraud. Barry allegedly inflated the price and pocketed a large amount on loans for 114 real estate properties. According to the indictment, Jones was a part of two such deals— both of which were launched at the end of 2005, when Jones was on the staff of the Miami Dolphins.

Photo Credit: AP Graphics William "Tank" Black, one of the NFL's first African-American mega agents (pictured), was charged in 1999 with bilking NFL players such as Giants receiver Ike Hillard, Jaguars runningback Jevon Kearse and other clients out of $14 million dollars.Black, the owner of Professional Management Inc., was at the peak of his career when he was accused of paying college players to make him their agent.  Ultimately, he was implicated in a money-laundering case, a Ponzi investment scheme, and the SEC accused him of being involved in a stock swindle.Black was sentenced to seven years but was released early after winning an appeal.According to the New York Daily News, Black admitted to lying to federal investigators and violating NCAA and NFL Players Association rules by giving large sums of money to college players. But he insists he did not cheat clients out of millions or knowingly launder drug money.

Kirk Wright was an Atlanta hedge fund manager with International Management Associates (IMA) accused of diverting millions of dollars from former NFL players.  He hired pro players Steve Atwater and Blaine Bishop to recruit others to invest with IMA.Wright, a former Harvard Business School student, claimed constant positive returns when there were actually losses.  An IMA accountant discovered false returns, and investors, including Atwater and Bishop, eventually suspected trickery. Wright fled in fear that his life was being threatened and F.B.I. agents found him in Miami spending what little was left of investors' money.In May 2008, Wright was convicted on 47 counts of fraud and money laundering in a $150 million hedge fund scheme. Three days after his conviction, he committed suicide in his Atlanta jail cell.

Watch American Greed's Episode 44 double feature, "Frozen Assets: The Ice Capers" and "Fraudster of the Opera," premiering Wednesday, March 16 10p | 1a ET.Review Case FileWatch the Preview

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