Atlas
06-26-2006, 08:28 PM
Atwater among players suing NFL for $20 million
By Margaret Cronin Fisk, Bloomberg News
June 26, 2006
SoCals link: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nfl/article/0,2777,DRMN_23918_4803265,00.html
Seven present and former professional football players sued the National Football League and the NFL Players Association, saying the organizations recommended unfit financial advisers and caused them to lose $20 million.
The NFL and the union approved the services of Kirk Wright and Nelson Keith Bond, heads of the bankrupt hedge fund International Management Associates LLC, without doing background checks, the players said in a June 23 federal court suit in Atlanta.
Wright was arrested in May on mail fraud charges.
"Wright should not have been approved for registration in the program," athletes including former Pro Bowl players Steve Atwater and Blaine Bishop claimed. "Prior to and during Wright’s and Bond’s registration, both individuals had numerous state and federal tax liens and judgments against them."
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said IMA raised as much as $185 million from about 500 investors before filing for bankruptcy in 2005. The suit asked reimbursement for losses and better monitoring of investment managers, players’ lawyer
Marlon Kimpson said.
"We want to make these players whole, but the lawsuit is aimed at getting the NFL and the players’ association to reform the program," Kimpson said in an interview.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in an e-mailed statement the claims are unfounded.
"We will review the matter with our attorneys and look forward to responding as directed by the court," Aiello said.
Richard Berthelsen, a Players Association attorney, Wright’s attorney Jacob Frenkel and Bond’s attorney Steven La Briola didn’t return calls for comment.
The SEC sued Wright, International Management Associates and other IMA entities in February, claiming fraud and seeking an injunction to prevent further sales. The SEC said IMA, through Wright, misrepresented the assets in its funds.
"In fact, without disclosure to the investors, virtually all of the assets of the funds have been dissipated," the SEC said in its complaint.
Wright told clients that two funds had more than $150 million under management in the custody of the brokerage firm Ameritrade Inc., the Federal Bureau of Investigation said in the press release announcing Wright’s indictment in March. The IMA funds had less than $150,000 in these accounts, the FBI said.
The Players Association set up a program designed to protect athletes from investment fraud after a previous unrelated scheme in 2002 cheated 12 NFL players and others of about $14 million, the players’ complaint said.
The association program said in SEC filings it would screen all financial investors for character, reputation and integrity, said Kimpson, of the law firm Motley Rice in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina.
"They didn’t do their homework," he said.
Bishop and other players also contacted the NFL to do background checks on IMA and Wright, according to the complaint. The NFL reported "that there were no red flags that would raise any concerns," the complaint said.
Atwater and Bishop were already in litigation with Bond. The players sued Bond in February over bounced checks. In a March countersuit, Bond said the players shared any liability for damages.
Atwater and Bishop worked for the hedge fund as interns recruiting investors because the NFL found nothing wrong in the background checks, the players said today in their lawsuit.
Atwater is a former safety with the Denver Broncos and New York Jets. Bishop, also a retired safety, was with the Tennessee Titans and the Philadelphia Eagles.
The other plaintiffs are former players Marco Coleman, Ray Crockett, Clyde Simmons and Al Smith and current New York Giant Carlos Emmons.
The case is Atwater v. National Football League Players Association, 1:06-cv-1510, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta).
By Margaret Cronin Fisk, Bloomberg News
June 26, 2006
SoCals link: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nfl/article/0,2777,DRMN_23918_4803265,00.html
Seven present and former professional football players sued the National Football League and the NFL Players Association, saying the organizations recommended unfit financial advisers and caused them to lose $20 million.
The NFL and the union approved the services of Kirk Wright and Nelson Keith Bond, heads of the bankrupt hedge fund International Management Associates LLC, without doing background checks, the players said in a June 23 federal court suit in Atlanta.
Wright was arrested in May on mail fraud charges.
"Wright should not have been approved for registration in the program," athletes including former Pro Bowl players Steve Atwater and Blaine Bishop claimed. "Prior to and during Wright’s and Bond’s registration, both individuals had numerous state and federal tax liens and judgments against them."
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said IMA raised as much as $185 million from about 500 investors before filing for bankruptcy in 2005. The suit asked reimbursement for losses and better monitoring of investment managers, players’ lawyer
Marlon Kimpson said.
"We want to make these players whole, but the lawsuit is aimed at getting the NFL and the players’ association to reform the program," Kimpson said in an interview.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in an e-mailed statement the claims are unfounded.
"We will review the matter with our attorneys and look forward to responding as directed by the court," Aiello said.
Richard Berthelsen, a Players Association attorney, Wright’s attorney Jacob Frenkel and Bond’s attorney Steven La Briola didn’t return calls for comment.
The SEC sued Wright, International Management Associates and other IMA entities in February, claiming fraud and seeking an injunction to prevent further sales. The SEC said IMA, through Wright, misrepresented the assets in its funds.
"In fact, without disclosure to the investors, virtually all of the assets of the funds have been dissipated," the SEC said in its complaint.
Wright told clients that two funds had more than $150 million under management in the custody of the brokerage firm Ameritrade Inc., the Federal Bureau of Investigation said in the press release announcing Wright’s indictment in March. The IMA funds had less than $150,000 in these accounts, the FBI said.
The Players Association set up a program designed to protect athletes from investment fraud after a previous unrelated scheme in 2002 cheated 12 NFL players and others of about $14 million, the players’ complaint said.
The association program said in SEC filings it would screen all financial investors for character, reputation and integrity, said Kimpson, of the law firm Motley Rice in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina.
"They didn’t do their homework," he said.
Bishop and other players also contacted the NFL to do background checks on IMA and Wright, according to the complaint. The NFL reported "that there were no red flags that would raise any concerns," the complaint said.
Atwater and Bishop were already in litigation with Bond. The players sued Bond in February over bounced checks. In a March countersuit, Bond said the players shared any liability for damages.
Atwater and Bishop worked for the hedge fund as interns recruiting investors because the NFL found nothing wrong in the background checks, the players said today in their lawsuit.
Atwater is a former safety with the Denver Broncos and New York Jets. Bishop, also a retired safety, was with the Tennessee Titans and the Philadelphia Eagles.
The other plaintiffs are former players Marco Coleman, Ray Crockett, Clyde Simmons and Al Smith and current New York Giant Carlos Emmons.
The case is Atwater v. National Football League Players Association, 1:06-cv-1510, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta).