BOSTON — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Massachusetts), published as received.
BOSTON – A former New England Patriots player and a former bank executive were indicted yesterday in connection with an investment scheme involving fraudulent loans to professional athletes.
Will Allen, 36, of Davie, Fla., and Susan Daub, 55, of Coral Springs, Fla., were indicted on twelve counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, six counts of identity theft and several counts of money laundering (four counts for Allen and one count for Daub). Both were arrested and charged in a criminal complaint in June 2015. Allen played in the National Football League from 2001 to 2012. In 2012, he signed a one-year contract with the New England Patriots.
The indictment alleges that Allen and Daub ran their company, Capital Financial Partners (CFP) as a Ponzi scheme, using money raised from new investors to pay back investments made by earlier investors. Allen and Daub allegedly defrauded investors out of millions of dollars by claiming that the funds would be used to back high-interest, short-term loans to professional athletes through CFP, Allen and Daub’s Massachusetts-based company. While CFP did make some loans to athletes, the indictment alleges that Allen and Daub also diverted millions of investor dollars to themselves and other business ventures.
Allen and Daub allegedly told some investors that the loans CFP made to professional athletes were larger than they actually were, allowing Allen and Daub to collect more money from investors than they were lending out to athletes. In other instances, Allen and Daub are accused of collecting money from investors to fund fictitious loans. To keep investors from discovering their fraud, Allen and Daub allegedly used newly invested money to make payments to existing investors, which they falsely characterized as interest and principal payments from athlete borrowers.
The charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud provides for sentences of no greater than 20 years in prison and up to three years of supervised release. The charge of identity theft provides for a sentence of two years in prison and up to one year of supervised release. The charge of money laundering provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison and up to three years of supervised release. Allen and Daub also may be fined of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss caused by offense, whichever is greater, on each of the counts. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston, made the announcement today. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian A. Pérez-Daple of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit. The U.S. Attorney’s Office received valuable assistance from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which previously charged Allen and Daub in a civil complaint.
The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
