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The inside story of how the FBI rocked college basketball
On May 6, 2016, Louis Martin "Marty" Blazer III, a Pittsburgh-based financial adviser, was charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission with wire fraud and accused of siphoning $2.35 million from the accounts of several professional athletes in order to invest in movie projects and make Ponzi-like payments. According to the SEC's complaint, when its examiners uncovered the unauthorized withdrawals and asked Blazer to explain them, he lied and produced falsified documents in an attempt to hide his misconduct.
The Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that Blazer, who founded Blazer Capital Management as a concierge firm targeting pro athletes and other high-worth individuals as clients, took the money from five clients without their authorization from October 2010 to January 2013 to invest in two movie projects. The commission alleged that Blazer had personal financial interest in the development of the films "Mafia the Movie" and "Sibling."
The commission's complaint said Blazer pitched the movie project to an athlete as an investment opportunity, but that client "expressly refused to make the investment." Blazer allegedly took $550,000 from the client's account anyway and invested in the film projects. When the client later learned about Blazer's actions and demanded repayment, Blazer took money out of a different athlete's account to make repayment in "Ponzi-like fashion."
On Aug. 4 of this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission ordered Blazer to make restitution of $1.8 million and to pay a civil penalty of $150,000. The commission had barred him from the industry in May 2016. As part of a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney's office, he agreed to plead guilty to securities fraud, aggravated identity theft, false statements and documents, and two counts of wire fraud, according to a Sept. 19 cooperation agreement.
It wasn't the first time Blazer was investigated by financial regulators. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, an unidentified NFL player filed a complaint against Blazer in March 2011 with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), an industry-funded group that regulates financial advisers and the firms where they work.
On May 6, 2016, Louis Martin "Marty" Blazer III, a Pittsburgh-based financial adviser, was charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission with wire fraud and accused of siphoning $2.35 million from the accounts of several professional athletes in order to invest in movie projects and make Ponzi-like payments. According to the SEC's complaint, when its examiners uncovered the unauthorized withdrawals and asked Blazer to explain them, he lied and produced falsified documents in an attempt to hide his misconduct.
The Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that Blazer, who founded Blazer Capital Management as a concierge firm targeting pro athletes and other high-worth individuals as clients, took the money from five clients without their authorization from October 2010 to January 2013 to invest in two movie projects. The commission alleged that Blazer had personal financial interest in the development of the films "Mafia the Movie" and "Sibling."
The commission's complaint said Blazer pitched the movie project to an athlete as an investment opportunity, but that client "expressly refused to make the investment." Blazer allegedly took $550,000 from the client's account anyway and invested in the film projects. When the client later learned about Blazer's actions and demanded repayment, Blazer took money out of a different athlete's account to make repayment in "Ponzi-like fashion."
On Aug. 4 of this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission ordered Blazer to make restitution of $1.8 million and to pay a civil penalty of $150,000. The commission had barred him from the industry in May 2016. As part of a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney's office, he agreed to plead guilty to securities fraud, aggravated identity theft, false statements and documents, and two counts of wire fraud, according to a Sept. 19 cooperation agreement.
It wasn't the first time Blazer was investigated by financial regulators. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, an unidentified NFL player filed a complaint against Blazer in March 2011 with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), an industry-funded group that regulates financial advisers and the firms where they work.
