Lester Jones, a former Hawks finance executive, was charged last week with fraud and embezzling $3.8 million from the Atlanta-based NBA team, Mike Vorkunov and Joe Vardon of The Athletic reported Monday, via an indictment brought by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia.
Jones's alleged crimes were uncovered due to a team-backed audit, The Athletic reported. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and is no longer employed by the Hawks, who declined to comment for The Athletic's story. An attorney for Jones also did not return a request for comment.
According to prosecutors, Jones, 46, controlled the Hawks' American Express card account and allegedly took advantage of that control to spend on personal trips to international destinations, buy tickets to concerts and even pay for a Porsche.
In another instance, prosecutors claim the now ex-senior VP of finance allegedly doctored a $229,968.76 bill from Amex to make it look like the money had been used on travel and logistics for the Hawks’ trip to the semifinals of the NBA Cup, when it had really been used for his personal spending.
Moreover, multiple league sources also told The Athletic that Jones was in a relationship with another team employee and is believed to have used some of the money he allegedly stole to buy her gifts.
News of these alleged financial crimes notably arrives not long after NBA guard Terry Rozier and then-Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups were arrested last month in a sports gambling probe spearheaded by the FBI.
Jones was released on $10,000 bond last week.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Former Atlanta Hawks Finance Exec Charged With Embezzling $3.8 Million.
