Georgia businessman convicted of cheating two ex-NBA players of $8M

NEW YORK (AP) — A Georgia businessman was convicted Friday of cheating former NBA stars Dwight Howard and Chandler Parsons of $8 million after a trial in Manhattan federal court.

The jury returned its verdict against Calvin Darden Jr. eight years after Darden was sentenced to a year in prison for impersonating his successful father in a failed bid to buy Maxim magazine. In that case, Darden got leniency by cooperating with prosecutors against others charged in the case.

This time, though, Darden turned down two offers by the government to plead guilty and went to trial.

Howard — an eight-time All Star, three-time defensive player of the year and one of the NBA’s most dominant centers during the prime of his 18-year professional career — testified during the trial that he was defrauded of $7 million. He played for seven franchises, most notably the Orlando Magic — who took him with the No. 1 overall selection in the 2004 draft — and the Los Angeles Lakers, where he won his lone NBA title during the pandemic-affected 2019-20 season.

During his testimony, Howard said Darden fooled him into giving him $7 million by convincing him that it was an investment toward the purchase of a women's basketball franchise. When a prosecutor asked him if he got anything in return for his $7 million, Howard testified that he got “a slap in the face.”

Prosecutors said Darden teamed up with a sports agent to fool Parsons into sending $1 million that was supposed to aid the development of James Wiseman, who currently plays in the NBA.

After Darden's conviction on all charges, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Meade sought to have Darden immediately taken into custody, saying he had not learned his lesson since the case in 2016, when he cooperated before sentencing and received leniency.

He also said Darden had been convicted three times of multimillion-dollar frauds and that prosecutors believe he will face between 11 years and 14 years in prison when he is sentenced early next year.

Meade said the government planned to seize all of Darden's assets, including his Atlanta home, along with luxury automobiles, art and jewelry purchased with money obtained through the fraud.

Judge Vernon S. Broderick said Darden can remain free on bail after his lawyer insisted he is no longer in danger of committing more frauds — and he is needed by his family, including his prominent father, who is ailing.

Darden's father, Cal Darden, is a former senior vice president for operations at Atlanta-based United Parcel Service Inc. who has sat on the boards of several major companies.

During closing arguments Thursday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Thompson said the proof that Darden Jr. “committed these crimes is overwhelming.”

Thompson said Darden Jr. lied about what he would spend the money on that he received from the basketball players and then moved the money through multiple accounts to try to launder it.

The prosecutor said Darden Jr. spent at least $6.1 million of the $7 million he got from Howard, including $500,000 on two cars; $110,000 on a piano; $765,000 for a down payment on a $3.7 million home; $90,000 on luxury watches and another half-million dollars for home upgrades in addition to hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on art.

Thompson said he also impersonated his father, as he had in the previous fraud eight years ago, to “leverage his father's good name.”

However, defense lawyer Xavier Donaldson argued that his client never impersonated his father with the athletes and accused prosecutors of trying to get jurors to use “guesswork, speculation, unreasonable inference” to reach a guilty verdict.

Larry Neumeister, The Associated Press