INDIANAPOLIS-A money manager stole more than $4.5 million over nearly a decade from an unnamed former NFL player who played several years for the Indianapolis Colts, federal prosecutors said Friday.
Kenneth Ray Cleveland, 63, of Agoura Hills, California, was indicted on seven counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering in the investment fraud scheme, U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler said.
Cleveland was the football player's financial adviser starting when the player entered the NFL after college, prosecutors said, and the player provided Cleveland with millions of dollars to invest. Cleveland used $2 million of the money he received from the player to pay other clients in a Ponzi scheme and spent another $2 million on personal expenses, prosecutors said. Those included his home mortgage, credit card bills, and payments to family members.
"Exploiting that trust for personal gain through lies and deception is a crime that this office takes very seriously," Minkler said in a news release announcing the indictment.
Cleveland's phone listing in California was disconnected and he couldn't be reached for comment. He faces maximum sentences of 10 to 20 years and a maximum fine of $250,000.