Former NFL cornerback Will Allen could be looking at decades behind bars after committing 23 federal felonies as part of his role in a Ponzi scheme, according to an indictment issued last week in Massachusetts.
Allen and his business partner, Susan C. Daub, misled investors by claiming that they could profit from funding the loans of cash-strapped athletes and receiving interest of up to 18 percent, a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission complaint alleges.
From July 2012 through February 2015, the complaint says that Allen and Daub raised more than $31 million from 40 investors, but only advanced $18 million in loans to athletes. They used some of the investor funds to cover charges at casinos and nightclubs, among other personal expenses, and to fund other business ventures, according to the complaint.
Allen faces "12 counts of wire fraud, six counts of aggravated identity theft, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and four counts of illegal monetary transactions," Jeff Ostrowski of the Palm Beach Post reports. "If convicted, Allen faces up to 20 years on each count of wire fraud and shorter sentences for the other felonies."
Allen appeared in 140 games over the course of his NFL career, the majority of which was spent with the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins.
