Man found guilty of defrauding ex-NBA stars Dwight Howard and Chandler Parsons of $8 million | News, scores, highlights, stats and rumors

Georgia man Calvin Darden Jr. was convicted Friday of defrauding former NBA stars Dwight Howard and Chandler Parsons of a total of $8 million.

The New York jury found Darden guilty of all five charges, including fraud, bank fraud, money laundering and two counts of conspiracy, according to Larry Nemeister of the Associated Press and Pete Brush of Law360.

The case was decided in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Prosecutors have said they will push for a prison sentence of 11 to 14 years for Darden, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.

Darden’s sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 27 until the judge rules that he will remain free on bail “with strict restrictions on internet use,” Brush reported. Prosecutors plan to seize assets including his home in Atlanta, Nemeister said.

Howard testified at trial that he gave Darden $7 million as part of a false scheme to buy the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream, Nemeister said.

The Dream was sold to a separate group of investors in February 2021. Prosecutors, meanwhile, have presented evidence that Darden spent more than $6 million of Howard’s money on cars, a piano, watches and money for a house, according to Nemeister.

Parsons did not testify at the trial, but prosecutors speaking on his behalf told the jury that he was defrauded of $1 million in a bogus investment in James Wiseman’s development. Wiseman, currently a player for the Indiana Pacers, was selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2020 draft by the Golden State Warriors.

Darden has been convicted of fraud several times in the past. He was sentenced to a year in prison in 2016 after cooperating with prosecutors in a case involving a fraudulent attempt to Maxim.

Former NBA agent Charles Briscoe, who prosecutors accused of working with Darden to defraud Howard, pleaded guilty to fraud last year for his role in the scheme.

Former Morgan Stanley advisor Darryl Cohen has also been charged in the case. He will go on trial next year on alleged fraud charges involving Parsons as well as former NBA player Courtney Lee and current Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday.

Howard played 18 seasons for seven NBA teams from 2004 to 2022. Parsons spent nine years in the NBA while playing for four teams between 2011 and 2020.