The guy who defrauded former NBA player Dwight Howard of millions of dollars for an investment in a fictitious bid for a WNBA team, Calvin Darden Jr., was sentenced to more than 12 years in jail.
Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced on Thursday, April 3, that Darden Jr. will serve more than ten years for defrauding NBA champion Howard, 39, and former Houston Rockets player Chandler Parsons of $8 million in a fictitious bid to purchase the Atlanta Dream.
According to reports, Parsons, 36, lost $1 million, and Howard lost $7 million in the scheme. When his sentencing was revealed, Darden Jr. was not present in court, according to the Associated Press.
Dwight Howard’s agent was involved in the scam
The district attorney claimed that Darden had been collaborating with Howard’s agent, Charles Briscoe, to carry out the scheme and had informed Howard that several well-known figures, such as tennis player Naomi Osaka, Tyler Perry, and Issa Rae, were also joining as advisors.
According to the statement: “In truth and in fact, those individuals and companies had never agreed to be advisors or corporate sponsors to the Dream and many had never even heard of Darden Jr.,”
Darden Jr. allegedly laundered Howard’s money to “a number of different bank accounts he controlled” and used it to purchase a $3.7 million mansion, three luxury cars, Jean-Michel Basquiat artwork, and other upscale items, according to the charging documents made public by the district attorney’s office.
