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C. Tate George
Soon after the field in the 2012 NCAA Tournament was whittled down to a dozen, federal authorities in Newark announced the indictment of George, of Newark, who is accused of using the money to pay for child support, among other expenses.
George, 43, of Newark, originally was charged with a single count of wire fraud. The grand jury added four more counts, for which he will be arraigned in federal court in Newark. A court date has yet to be set.
Sports fans best remember George for catching a 90-foot pass with 1 second left and making a buzzer-beating jump shot against Clemson that put top-seeded UConn into the Elite Eight in 1990. George later played for the Nets, 76ers and Bucks.
The former point guard was CEO of The George Group when he used money from investors to pay off others while keeping some to pay for work on his house, clothing, gas and meals, among other expenses, the indictment alleges. He then lied to federal investigators about it, it says.
Beginning in 2005 and continuing into March of last year, Tate boasted “a real estate development portfolio worth in excess of $500 million,” according to the charges.
He gave his basketball pals promissory notes that “reflected the amount of their investment and a schedule, which varied from a matter of days to up to one year, for the payment of interest and the return of investors’ principal.
“In reality, The George Group had virtually no income-generating operations.”
One of the players – identified in court papers as B.K. – told investigators he was investing $300,000 in a real estate development project in East Orange, with a promise of a full return plus $18,000 in interest.
Immediately after the player wired the money into an attorney’s account, George shifted it to an account in his firm’s name, then shipped $6,000 to an unidentified co-conspirator, the government alleges. He then used the rest of the money to pay child support, among other expenses, the indictment says.
The case was brought in coordination with President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, designed to “wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes,” U.S. Attorney Paul S. Fishman said.
The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, “bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources,” he said.
Its goals include working to “ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes,” Fishman added.
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