A former NFL linebacker has been sentenced to two and a half years in federal prison after admitting to orchestrating a Ponzi scheme that involved investments in West African gold mines, properties in Central America, and other ventures. John Robert Leake, a former player for the Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers, confessed to defrauding friends and acquaintances by persuading them to invest in nonexistent business opportunities.
Leake, 43, swindled his victims of $5 million over a five-year period by deceiving them with false promises of lucrative investments. He used the money for personal expenses and to repay previous victims in order to sustain his fraudulent scheme. In September, Leake pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John F. Walter to pay $5 million in restitution to the six individuals he defrauded.
According to court documents, Leake’s elaborate scheme involved bogus projects in gold mines in Ghana and Alaska, as well as real estate deals in regions such as Southern California, Costa Rica, and the Middle East. His victims, described as friends and acquaintances, were duped into investing over $8 million in Leake’s ventures, with a significant portion of the funds being diverted for his personal use, including gambling and covering living expenses.
Leake’s attorney, Evan J. Davis, attributed his client’s criminal actions to a gambling addiction and expressed remorse on behalf of Leake, who has since sought treatment and rehabilitation. Despite his past athletic career at Clemson University and in the NFL, Leake’s downfall serves as a cautionary tale of the devastating consequences of financial fraud and deception.
According to the plea agreement, among other financial product schemes, a portion of the $1.7 million paid to Leake was indeed directed to gold mines, but the majority of it was allocated to non-existent financial product schemes. Over $1 million ended up in Leake’s possession. The two individuals first connected through mutual friends in approximately 2014, as stated in court documents. Leake’s next victim, per the plea agreement, was a friend whom he convinced, along with the friend’s father and two others, to invest in what turned out to be fictitious luxury real estate ventures in Los Angeles and Costa Rica.
The plan in California involved Leake using the funds to cover extravagant rent on high-end properties, which they would sublet at a premium to generate profits. However, the properties were never real, despite Leake collecting over $1 million. In another instance, the friend also entrusted Leake with $600,000 to invest with a purported billionaire associate of Leake’s, a claim that turned out to be false as per court records. Leake also deceived the friend into investing about $500,000 in a supposed property deal in Costa Rica, providing forged documents and checks without ever forwarding the money to the alleged developer. Ultimately, the friend lost approximately half of their investment over a span of two years, with Leake using funds from other victims to repay the remaining portion.
Another victim, whom Leake encountered at a social gathering, suffered the largest loss of $2.8 million, court filings reveal. Despite promising to invest the funds in Dubai properties, Leake diverted the money to repay prior victims.
Leake, a former Atlanta Falcons linebacker, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for orchestrating a Ponzi scheme. In a letter to the presiding judge, Leake described the moment his fraudulent activities caught up with him as a profound awakening, leading him to acknowledge the harm he caused his friends through deception and manipulation. Following his indictment, he sought treatment at a mental health facility in Houston, engaging in programs for gambling addiction and substance abuse. Leake expressed remorse for his actions and pledged to make amends to all six victims impacted by his schemes upon completing his sentence.
USA TODAY Network. Michael Loria, a national reporter at USA TODAY’s breaking news desk, can be reached at mloria@usatoday.com, @mchael_mchael, or on Signal at (202) 290-4585. This piece was first published on USA TODAY: Former NFL player defrauds friend of $5M in Ponzi scheme. What was the motive behind it?
