Ex-NFL Linebacker Ran Ponzi Scheme, Scores 2.5-Year Prison Stint

Former NFL linebacker John Leake has been sentenced to 2.5 years in federal prison after he admitted to running a Ponzi scheme. 

The scheme was related to multiple things, including properties in Central America and West African gold mines. 

He ran the scheme to pay personal expenses, including car payments, credit cards, rent, and to finance his gambling addiction. 

Earlier this year, two men in Utah were arrested for running a fake casino Ponzi scheme. 

More About The Case

Leake, 43, of Plano, Texas, pleaded guilty in September 2024 to a single count of wire fraud and one count of transactional money laundering. 

Over five years, from 2015 to 2020, Leake defrauded victims over a collective $5 million. He said he was involved with luxury real estate, gold mines, and more. 

He encouraged these people to "loan him funds for him to invest in these purported ventures in exchange for a high rate of return."

In the end, he got about $8.1 million from six victims and the total loss was more than $5 million. 

Leake’s attorney, Evan J. Davis, said, “Mr. Leake committed these crimes based largely on his being a gambling addict and he feels terrible about deceiving his friends to fuel that addiction… Fortunately, he has turned a corner with his treatment and is on the right path.”

Prosecutors Comments

“[Leake] stole millions of dollars from friends and acquaintances through bald-faced deception,” federal prosecutors said in court filings. 

Leake “lied to those who considered him a friend, convinced them to invest in business opportunities that were largely non-existent, and used their funds to either pay his personal expenses, or pay back those he had already stolen from in an effort to keep his scheme afloat.”

Then, in a press release on the United States Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California, it read the following: 

“In fact, Leake knew these investment opportunities often were fabricated and non-existent and were devised by Leake to defraud victims and trick them into giving him money.

Leake duped his victims by lying that he had invested large amounts of his own money in the purported business ventures he promoted. Leake rarely invested his own money into them.

He also fraudulently offered to personally guarantee return of the victims’ loans and provided them promissory notes purporting to memorialize his promise to repay the victims at a fixed rate of interest. Leake’s lies to his victims included his claims that his business ventures were successful, and he had accumulated substantial personal assets and income. In fact, Leake lacked sufficient personal assets and income to repay his victims.”

Leake’s Playing Career

Leake had a cup of coffee in the NFL, landing with the Tennessee Titans, Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, and Atlanta Falcons. 

Over his career, he recorded 17 tackles across 25 games. 

In college, he played for the Clemson Tigers, who won the 2004 Peach Bowl, beating Tennessee 27-14.