Ex-NBA player charged in $2M Ponzi scheme

Tate George, who played professional basketball for the New Jersey Nets and Milwaukee Bucks in the 1990s, was charged with running a $2 million Ponzi scheme that targeted former pro athletes.George, 43, is charged with one count of wire fraud, according to a statement today from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark, New Jersey. George, who faces a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted, surrendered to federal authorities today in Newark, the U.S. said.From 2005 through March 2011, George, claiming to have more than $500 million under management at his company, raised more than $2 million from investors for real-estate developments in Florida, Illinois, Connecticut and New Jersey, according to the statement. The company had “virtually no income generating operations,” prosecutors said.“Instead of using investments to fund real estate development projects, George used the money from new investors to pay existing investors,” according to the statement. “He also used some of the money for home improvement projects, meals at restaurants, clothing and gas.”Thomas Ashley, whom the U.S. Attorney’s statement listed as George’s defense counsel, couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.George attended the University of Connecticut, where he hit the game-winning shot against Clemson University in the third round of the 1990 National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament. With one second remaining and Connecticut trailing by one, George caught a full-court inbounds pass from teammate Scott Burrell, spun around and hit a 15-foot jump shot as time expired.He was selected by the Nets with the No. 22 pick in the 1990 National Basketball Association draft. In a four-year NBA career, George averaged 4.2 points and 1.8 assists a game.