Former Sacramento Kings executive who stole $13M receives 7-year jail term
Former Sacramento Kings executive Jeffrey David was sentenced to seven years in prison on Monday after he pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $13 million from the team’s sponsorship deals.
David, 44, pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft last December. As the Kings’ chief revenue officer, David fraudulently directed $13.4 million from five of the team’s corporate sponsors into a bank account under his control, with apparent plans to buy beach houses in Southern California and sell them for a profit.
"The brazen scheme involved forgeries, stolen corporate executive identities, money laundering and even instructing a former colleague to destroy evidence,'' U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott said in a statement. "Today's sentence should deter others from committing substantial frauds such as this one.''
David told the court that he had planned to reimburse the Kings in full with profits from his real estate scheme. The former NBA executive convinced sponsors to make early payments on deals he had negotiated and then transferred the money to a fraudulent limited liability company.
David expressed remorse for his actions and blamed the scheme, in part, on heavy personal use of alcohol.
“This was a cataclysmic mistake,” David said in court documents obtained by the Sacramento Bee. “It was wrong and selfish and criminal. I know that. I was very wrong to have done this.
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Federal officials have repaid more than $13 million to the Kings after seizing and selling properties under David’s control. David is expected to begin serving his sentence in August.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.