A former personal assistant to Gilbert Arenas has been found guilty of stealing more than $2 million from Arenas during a three-year span.
John A. White, who served as Arenas’s assistant from 2006-2012, was convicted on Wednesday of 11 counts of wire fraud and four counts of filing a false tax-related document. He is facing up to 20 years in federal person for each wire fraud count and a maximum of three years for each tax-related offense.
According to court documents obtained by Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel, White stole $2,188,170 from Arenas from 2008-2011 by making unauthorized online transfers from one of Arenas’s bank accounts into three accounts that were controlled by White. The 40-year-old then used the money for personal expenses like mortgage payments, a Ferrari and a Range Rover.
Since White never claimed the stolen money in the joint tax returns he filed with his wife, his actual household income was significantly higher than what he reported.
Arenas saw his NBA career derailed by injuries, but the 33-year made — and is still making — a ton of money. The Orlando Magic are still paying him the back end of his six-year, $111 million contract after they used the amnesty provision to waive Arenas in 2011.
It’s easy to see how athletes can lose track of their money, especially $2 million when they are making over $20 million per year. We recently heard Charles Barkley say some shocking things about his former agent, who Barkley says stole money from him. Unfortunately, situations like these are extremely common in professional sports.
