Georgia man guilty of defrauding ex-NBA players Howard and Parsons out of $8 million

A Georgia businessman was convicted Friday by a federal jury in Manhattan of five counts of defrauding former NBA players Dwight Howard and Chandler Parsons of a total of $8 million in 2021.

Calvin Darden Jr. was found guilty of fraud, bank fraud, money laundering and two separate counts of conspiracy. Darden was involved in several schemes with former NBA agent Charles Briscoe, who pleaded guilty last year for his role in the case.

Prosecutors presented evidence that Howard sent Darden a $7 million payment for what the former All-Star viewed as part of an effort to buy the WNBA team Atlanta Dream.

Parsons was tricked into making a fraudulent investment in the career development of former No. 2 draft pick James Wiseman. Government lawyers have indicated they will seek a prison sentence of 11 to 14 years for Darden, who was also convicted in 2016 in a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme.

The jury, which took five hours to reach its verdict after a two-week trial, was presented with evidence that Darden took $6.1 million of Howard's $7 million for two cars, including a Lamborghini, $110,000 for a piano, $90,000 Dollars used for watches and to help buy a car has $3.7 million home in Atlanta. Howard testified against Darden during the trial.

Briscoe received three months of house arrest and three years of supervision last November for one count of wire fraud.

The case was part of a comprehensive series of indictments and arrests made by the Southern District of New York over the past year. Next year, a former Morgan Stanley financial adviser, Darryl Cohen, is scheduled to stand trial in a scheme in which the government defrauded Boston Celtics star Jrue Holiday, among others.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.