Reggie Rucker plead guilty back in February of 2016 to wire fraud and false statement charges. He is now sentenced to 21 months in prison for his acts.
Reggie Rucker spent the majority of his career with the Browns and the news of his crime will shock you considering athletes are the first to have and or create charities. The details of this case are quite intriguing and you’ll raise your eyebrows when you hear what defense Reggie Rucker’s lawyer took.
Rucker, 68, pleaded guilty in February to wire fraud and false statement charges after an FBI investigation found that he had stolen more than $100,000 from the two groups, with much of the money withdrawn from ATMs at casinos in Cleveland, Las Vegas and elsewhere. Rucker withdrew hundreds of thousands of dollars from bank accounts he oversaw, authorities said.
Prosecutors said in a statement Wednesday that Rucker would solicit donations and then use the money to pay off markers at casinos as well as personal expenses. The diversions occurred between 2011 and 2015, prosecutors said.
U.S. District Judge Dan Polster ordered Rucker to pay $110,000 in restitution, money that is expected to come from Rucker’s share of a settlement of a class-action lawsuit against the NFL for hiding concussion risks.
How did the defense respond to that and was their stance seen as an excuse?
Defense attorney Michael Hennenberg said after the sentencing hearing on Wednesday that Rucker’s gambling addiction resulted from poor impulse control, a condition caused by atrophy in a portion of his brain’s frontal lobe.
“Reggie never offered that as an excuse,” Hennenberg said, adding that Rucker has been in treatment the last two years for his gambling addiction and his brain injuries.
Where he will serve his sentence will be determined soon.