Florida Criminal Attorney Blog
Chicago Bulls legend Scottie Pippen invested more than $20 million with a financial adviser he says had come highly recommended by the team who has just been sentenced to three years behind bars for fraud.
The 66-year-old former money advisor was convicted of a variety of fraud schemes that included forging Pippen’s signature on a $1.4 million loan that he used to pay off personal debts.
In his ruling, the judge found that the advisor had lied at trial about forging Pippen’s signature as well as by claiming he’d gotten the go-ahead to apply for a second loan in the name of another victim.
In addition to the prison time, the judge ordered the man to forfeit $2.7 million and pay an additional $1.5 million in restitution, including $400,000 directly to Pippen.
The man was convicted by a jury in 2014 of five counts of bank fraud. Prosecutors claim he illegally obtained a total of about $3 million in loans from Oak Brook-based Leaders Bank, which included the $1.4 million loan that he claimed Pippen needed to invest in a private jet. The man apparently instead spent most of the money for his own benefit, making mortgage payments and paying other investment clients, prosecutors said.
Bank fraud is a criminal offense defined as deliberately and knowingly carrying out a scheme to defraud a financial institution. Basically, bank fraud is the use of fraudulent means to obtain money, assets, or other property that is owned or in the control of a bank or other financial institution. Bank fraud can be committed in a variety of ways including the following:
- Mail fraud
- Wire fraud
- Making false statements on loan applications
- Falsifying documents
- Forging checks
- Loan fraud
- Counterfeiting bank documents
If you have been accused of committing bank fraud, you know these charges are serious and must be dealt with accordingly. At Whittel & Melton, our Florida Criminal Defense Lawyers know that any type of criminal charge can be scary to deal with. Call us today at 866-608-5529 or contact us online so that we can help guide you through the legal process and fight aggressively to protect your rights. Your initial consultation is free, so do not delay.