We’ve all heard a myriad of stories over the years of professional athletes getting ripped off. Technically, the story of former Miami Dolphins safety Reshad Jones is a little different though in that he actually won a judgement to recoup what his financial advisor stole from him.
Back in August, Jones reached a settlement with Merrill, Bank of America’s investment management division since 2009, after he was ripped off to the tune of of $2.58 million in a grand theft and money laundering scheme, which sounds really bad when they say it like that.
After initially asking for $16 million, Jones and Merrill settled on $9.5 million, which is fantastic since so many athletes get ripped off by so many people and you rarely hear about them getting back what’s theirs.
Former vice president at Merrill ripped off Reshad Jones and who knows who else
Jones’ former financial advisor and Merrill employee Isaiah Williams managed to steal $1.56 million from the former Pro Bowl safety in 133 separate transactions. According to ESPN, another $1.03 million was taken through an elaborate money-laundering scheme involving bank and cash app transfers between Williams and a Georgia-based woman, Octavia Monique Graham.
Apparently, Jones never even met the woman.
For the record, ESPN repeatedly refers to the company as “Merrill Lynch” in their story. Other outlets refer to it simply as “Merrill,” because that’s the correct way to do it. Merrill is Bank of America’s investment management division and Merrill Lynch still does exist. However, ESPN uses “Merrill Lynch” in their headline and again in their story, which isn’t correct. Not for nothing, they also spelled the thief’s name incorrectly. Do better, ESPN.
Back in July, Jones’ attorney’s issued a statement on the matter, saying that this is “yet another troubling example of a professional athlete being exploited by a wealth management firm he trusted.”
And to be clear, this wasn’t a financial planner leading a client down the path of bad investments, this was straight-up theft.
“In this case, the wrongdoer was a Vice President at one of the world’s largest financial institutions — Bank of America’s investment management division, Merrill Lynch,” Chase Carlson and Jeff Sonn said in a statement, also getting the name Merrill Lynch wrong. “We have filed a lawsuit to hold Merrill Lynch accountable and are working to recover all damages our client has suffered.”
Reshad Jones made good money over 10 years in the NFL
Jones was a fifth-round pick out of the University of Georgia in 2010 and spent all 10 years of his career with the Dolphins. In 2013, Jones signed a four-year, $28.01 million deal before signing a five-year, $60 million deal in 2017. In all, Over the Cap estimates that Jones hauled in about $56 million over the course of his career.
Before you go counting other people’s money, that’s pre-everything. That’s before taxes, expenses, 3% agent fee, etc. Yes, he did well, but he wasn’t walking around with $56 million in his checking account.
Between October 2019 and September 2021, 16 handwritten checks totaling roughly $435,000 were taken from Graham’s bank account and deposited into Williams’ Chase bank account, which sounds like a great plan for stealing money.
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