Former NBA Kings CRO JEFF DAVID "agreed to plead guilty in an audacious scheme" in which he siphoned off $13.4M from two of the team’s top sponsors and "spent it on beachfront homes in Southern California," according to Sam Stanton of the SACRAMENTO BEE. David's attorney, MARK REICHEL, said that his client signed a "plea agreement in a deal that will recoup all of the money diverted from the Golden 1 Credit Union and Kaiser Permanente." David is "expected to enter his guilty plea in a Sacramento federal courtroom in January." Prosecutors plan to "argue for sentence of 8 1/2 years, while his attorneys are expected to argue that he should serve no more than two years in prison." In August, David left his position as Heat CRO following the revelation that he was "under FBI investigation." Reichel said, "From the moment Mr. David was contacted by law enforcement he agreed to cooperate fully and completely. In fact, he flew on a plane from Miami, arriving in Sacramento around 3 a.m., to spend the entire day with federal law enforcement to explain everything truthfully. ... He has since spent every day working to ensure all of the monies were repaid and, in fact, the funds were repaid at lightning speed." The prosecutors "filed 11 counts of wire fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft." Kings officials said that a team employee "reviewing computer files left behind by David found a folder labeled 'Turbo tax' and began investigating" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 12/13). The AP's Paul Elias noted David admitted to "forging the team president’s signature to divert sponsorship payments to a bank account he controlled." Court records showed David "agreed to relinquish the properties," which have been sold for $14.8M, and the team is "expected to recoup the stolen funds" (AP, 12/12).
