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Ex-Georgia coach Jim Donnan accused of running Ponzi scheme

Comments ATLANTA (AP) – Former University of Georgia football coach Jim Donnan used his influence to get high-profile college coaches and former players to invest $80 million into a Ponzi scheme, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Thursday.

1999 photo by Chris O'Meara, AP

Jim Donnan, who also coached Marshall to an FCS title in 1992, coached Georgia to a 40-19 record from 1996 to 2000.

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1999 photo by Chris O'Meara, AP

Jim Donnan, who also coached Marshall to an FCS title in 1992, coached Georgia to a 40-19 record from 1996 to 2000.

Sponsored LinksDonnan and a business partner persuaded investors to put money into a liquidation company that bought and resold appliances and furniture, the SEC said. Donnan and Gregory Crabtree, from Proctorville, Ohio, told investors the business was unique and profitable with huge potential and little risk, said William P. Hicks, associate director of the SEC's Atlanta office.

The pair raised about $80 million from nearly 100 investors, but only about $12 million of that was used to buy merchandise. The remainder was used to pay false returns or was pocketed by Donnan and Crabtree, the SEC said. Donnan also funneled large sums to family members, according to the SEC.

The company, West Virginia-based GLC Limited, promised returns ranging from 50% to nearly four times what investors put in. The individual losses ranged from a few thousand dollars to about $4 million, Hicks said.

Donnan's attorney has previously acknowledged the former coach was paid lucrative commissions, but he said Donnan believed he was being paid from legitimate profits.

A lawyer for Donnan did not immediately return a phone call and email from the Associated Press on Thursday, and an attorney for Crabtree did not return a call.

The SEC said it was seeking to recover the ill-gotten gains as well as undetermined civil penalties against Donnan and Crabtree. Hicks declined to say whether criminal charges would be filed against them.

The U.S. attorney's office in Atlanta would not say whether it is investigating Donnan.

The SEC also wants to recover money it says Donnan gave to two of his adult children and a son-in-law.

Donnan was coach at Marshall from 1990 through 1995 and at Georgia from 1996 through 2000 and later became an ESPN analyst.

Among the coaches Donnan helped attract were Texas State football coach Dennis Franchione; Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer; ex-Dallas Cowboys coach Barry Switzer and Texas Tech football coach Tommy Tuberville.

Donnan used his influence with former players who looked up to him, federal regulators said. According to the SEC court filing, he told one player, "Your Daddy is going to take care of you," and, "if you weren't my son, I wouldn't be doing this for you," the SEC complaint said. That former player, who was not named, ended up investing $800,000.

In outlining the alleged fraud, the SEC said Crabtree formed GLC in 2004 and began buying and selling liquidated, damaged or returned merchandise. Donnan funded a GLC deal to buy and resell appliances in July 2007 and then began recruiting other investors.

Donnan typically offered investors a chance to provide money for specific "deals" by GLC. When deals were supposedly finished, Donnan often encouraged investors to "roll over" their principal or interest payments into new deals, the SEC said. He told some investors their profits were "guaranteed" and told at least one investor "you can't lose your money; it's already pumping oil."

In late 2009 or early 2010, Crabtree told Donnan that GLC could no longer pay the rates of return Donnan was promising investors. The company began missing interest payments due to investors in August 2010.

Neither Donnan nor Crabtree disclosed GLC's financial problems to new investors. And Donnan, with Crabtree's knowledge, continued raising funds for deals while promising future returns, the SEC said.

Ultimately, a group of investors forced the appointment of a restructuring officer to run GLC. As the officer began to uncover the fraud, Crabtree resigned. In February of last year, the restructuring officer had GLC file a voluntary bankruptcy petition.

Donnan and his wife also filed for bankruptcy, and creditors claimed the Donnans owed them more than $40 million. A federal judge in Georgia approved a settlement in the case last month and, a judge in Ohio, where GLC is being restructured in bankruptcy court, also signed off on the settlement.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/story/2012-08-16/jim-donnan-accused-of-ponzi-scheme/57093946/1

NCAA rule-breaking with coaches and staffers: Shapiro said he violated NCAA rules with the knowledge or direct participation of at least six coaches - Clint Hurtt, Jeff Stoutland and Aubrey Hill on the football staff, and Frank Haith, Jake Morton and Jorge Fernandez on the basketball staff. Multiple sources told Yahoo! Sports Shapiro also violated NCAA rules with football assistant Joe Pannunzio, although the booster refused to answer any questions about that relationship. Shapiro also named assistant football equipment manager Sean Allen as someone who engaged in rulebreaking, and equipment managers Ralph Nogueras and Joey Corey as witnesses to some of his impropriety.

Among the specific incidents, Shapiro or other sources say Hurtt, Hill, Stoutland, Pannunzio and Allen all delivered top-tier recruits to Shapiro's home or luxury suite so the booster could make recruiting pitches to them. Among the players who were ushered to Shapiro while they were still in high school: Eventual Miami commitments Ray-Ray Armstrong, Dyron Dye and Olivier Vernon (prompted by Hurtt); eventual Florida commitments Andre Debose (Hurtt) and Matt Patchan (prompted by Stoutland and Pannunzio); eventual Georgia commitment Orson Charles (Pannunzio); and eventual Central Florida commitment Jeffrey Godfrey (Allen).

Shortly after the report was released, the NCAA informed U of L that it would need to speak with Hurtt at some point.

Since then, everyone associated with Louisville football has played the expected part. Tom Jurich has said the school will cooperate with the NCAA, Charlie Strong has said that he is standing behind his friend and colleague, and Cardinal fans have pretty much ignored the entire situation.

While the timing couldn't be much worse, Hurtt's date with the NCAA appears to be coming.

The reason for the raising of the red flag is that Aubrey Hill, the wide receivers coach at Florida who was another one of the coaches tied to agent Nevin Shapiro in the Yahoo report, resigned today for "personal reasons." Shortly after that news broke, CBS' Bruce Feldman tweeted that he had heard from "several sources" that the former Miami coach most tied to Nevin Shapiro wasn't Hill, but Clint Hurtt.

Not great.

Like a lot of Cardinal fans, I've thought since this news first came out last August that U of L would eventually have to part ways with Hurtt. It was nice being able to ignore it, but it appears the time for dealing with this head on is finally here.

So how soon will we know what the future holds for Clint Hurtt at Louisville? Maybe tonight. One media member told me he thinks that if Hurtt isn't at the open practice it means he's gone, but if he is there it means he's probably going to stay and try to ride this thing out.

Here's hoping that whatever happens doesn't wind up being an extreme distraction, because that's the last thing this team needs heading into a season where BCS dreams are very realistic.

Yes, I read the article and this guy knows nothing about these guys on Miami's team. I will not go into a long discussion about them or the up coming season.

Just Watch. The first 3 games will tell the story!

I like the CANES to win 8 games this year. They did lose a few good players and Ray Ray's loss will not help but they know Golden's

system much better and a lot of the Soph.'s and Freshman last year had a lot of playing time. Some of this years Freshmen

will get playing time. Young but could be very good.

They seem to have forgotten Eddie Robbinson of Grambling

Among NCAA Division I coaches, the all-time win leader is Eddie Robinson_(American football coach) (408), Bobby Bowden (377), Bear Bryant (323), Tubby Raymond (300), Joe Paterno (298), and LaVell Edwards (257). Due to a child sexual abuse scandal, Paterno's wins from the 1998-2011 seasons were vacated, resulting in his removal from the top of the list of winningest Division I coaches.

http://www.miamihera...wrongdoing.html

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/07/21/2904868/report-university-of-miami-coach.html

Safety Ray-Ray Armstrong has been removed from the football team by the University, officially ending the career of one of Miami's most touted recruits of the past decade. Armstrong has already been removed from the official Hurricane roster.

What is known: This was a University decision, likely in tandem with the NCAA, not a football team suspension for a violation of team rules. The University is not releasing any details, but CaneSport has been told that everything that has been speculated about reasons for him potentially getting in trouble over the past two weeks was inaccurate.

Armstrong ends his Cane career never fulfilling his five-star potential - coming out of high school he was the nation's No. 13 overall player by Rivals.com.

Last season Armstrong was suspended for NCAA violations, missing five games. He wound up starting one game and had 34 tackles and one interception.

As a sophomore in 2010 he was third on the team in tackles (79) and recorded three interceptions. He never redshirted, and as a freshman in 2009 he played in 10 games.

With Armstrong gone there will be a fall battle between Kacy Rodgers and AJ Highsmith to start opposite returning starter Vaughn Telemaque.

UM's only comment on the matter is a release that reads "The University of Miami has dismissed senior Ray-Ray Armstrong from the football team. Armstrong can continue to be enrolled as a scholarship student at UM to complete his degree or the University will grant him a full release should he elect to transfer to another institution."

Understand this is a university decision, not a coaches or NCAA decision

http://www.wsfa.com/story/18747849/shooting-at-auburn-apt-complex

From the Auburn board:

From the Valdosta Daily Times

Former Lowndes High School football standout Ed Christian was fatally shot and killed late Saturday night at the University Heights Apartment Complex in Auburn, Ala., according to The Auburn Plainsman and reports via the social media website Twitter.

Christian was a former football player at Auburn, and was still living in the town working his way towards a college degree. His father, ‘Big’ Ed Christian is a law enforcement officer with the Lowndes County Sheriffs Department.

Former Auburn player Ladarious Phillips and current player Eric Mack were also involved in the shooting, according to social media notifications.

According to Mack’s Twitter account, Christian and Phillips were shot and killed.

“I appreciate all the love and prayers for me and two lost homies. May god be with their families,†wrote Mack.

A press conference is scheduled for 11 a.m. local time at the apartment complex where the shooting occurred.

The altercation that led to the shooting Saturday night was reportedly started because of a dispute about a woman, according to several bystanders interviewed outside University Heights Saturday night by the Plainsman. According to the reports, Christian was shot when he was attempting to break up a fight.

No suspects have been named.

Christian was a member of the 2007 state championship team at Lowndes. He helped make up the offensive line known as the “Mayflower Moversâ€. His last season with the Vikings was 2008. Following that season, he accepted a scholarship to play football at Auburn University, where he was plagued by a back injury that cut his career short

Another good ALE is Fosters Premium.

DaMarcus Smith to enroll at Central Florida

12:07 PM, Jun. 3, 2011  | 

C. L. Brown

U of L Sports

The recruiting saga of former Seneca High School quarterback DaMarcus Smith has taken another twist, according to his mother: He has decided to attend Central Florida after all.

It was the second time since January that Smith changed his mind. He committed to the University of Louisville shortly after head coach Charlie Strong was hired in December 2009.

“In his heart, he really wanted to be a Cardinal,†Smith's mother Daytonya Ward said Friday. “But as of this fall, he is going to be a Knight.â€

Smith tried to enroll at U of L in January, but was deemed ineligible by the NCAA clearinghouse. He reopened his recruiting process and signed a National Letter of Intent with Central Florida in February -- only to ask for his release from that letter in March.

Ward filed an appeal with the NLOI board and just last month said Smith was prepared to sit out the entire year if UCF did not release him from the binding letter of intent. On Friday morning, Ward said the weight of sitting out a year was ultimately what steered him back to his UCF commitment.

“The year that he had to sit out for the knee injury wasn't really good for him,†Ward said of Smith's season-ending injury as a junior. “Football is his passion it's what he loves, so I asked him, ‘Are you prepared to sit out another year?' And basically I think that's what it boiled down to, could he really do that.â€

Smith's interest in UCF after being committed to U of L for a year raised questions whether he was swayed by outside influences. The school was contacted by the NCAA and has begun an internal investigation after The New York Times and ESPN.com both had stories about connections between three UCF recruits and Kenneth Caldwell of Chicago, who is described as having a substantial criminal record and has apparent ties to sports agents. The Times story also said that former U of L basketball player Brandon Bender had helped in the recruiting Smith to UCF.

Ward reiterated that she has never been offered money or extra benefits to steer Smith to UCF.

“DaMarcus made this decision by himself,†Ward said. “Again, he was in turmoil because his heart was with the Cardinals. …As far as any other outside influences even down to family members and friends – no. He made this decision by himself.â€

Smith still must become eligible. Ward also said they were awaiting an appeal on two courses in question.

“We just needed a school pushing for the eligibility,†Ward said. “At this point it's kind of crunch time. We're going to see if we can get him in the summer session June 20. The NCAA has never given me a timeframe.â€