The U.S. Attorney's Office announced via a statement Tuesday that former NFL linebacker John Robert Leake was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison.
Leake, 43, was ordered to pay his victims just over $5.3 million in restitution. He lied to them about involvement in various high-value real estate developments, as well as fabricated gold mines in Alaska and Ghana, promising high yields on investments.
The Plano, Texas native pleaded guilty in September to one count of wire fraud and one count of transactional money laundering, according to the Attorney's Office release. Per the release, Leake used the millions he stole from his victims, among other means, to pay off gambling expenses, while also partly using the stolen money to pay out other victims with purported “interest” and “capital” payments.
How did Leake do it?
According to the U.S. Attorney's office, Leake solicited money between June 2015 and Mar. 2020, claiming he invested large amounts of his capital into the business ventures, despite rarely actually doing so. Leake himself also knew the investment opportunities were fabricated and non-existent, devised solely for the purpose of tricking victims into paying him off.
“[Leake] fraudulently offered to personally guarantee return of the victims’ loans and provided them promissory notes purporting to memorialize his promise to repay the victims at a fixed rate of interest,” the statement reads. “Leake’s lies to his victims included his claims that his business ventures were successful, and he had accumulated substantial personal assets and income. In fact, Leake lacked sufficient personal assets and income to repay his victims.”
In total, the investigation, conducted by the IRS, found six victims paid Leake approximately $8.1 million in funds, leading to losses of over $5.3 million.
During his brief professional football career, Leake spent time with the Tennessee Titans, signing with them as an undrafted free agent in 2004, then playing 25 games across two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers. He collected 12 career tackles over the course of his NFL career.
Leake’s roots in the SEC region run beyond his time with the Falcons. He spent three seasons with the Clemson Tigers, mostly as a backup, and won the 2003 Peach Bowl on a squad led by future NFL journeyman QB Charlie Whitehurst -- better known by his infamous moniker “Clipboard Jesus.”
