Akers (and other former Eagles) involved in Ponzi Scheme
According to a report from Yahoo Sports, San Francisco 49ers (former Eagle) kicker David Akers testified in front of a federal jury on Monday about losing $3.7 million investing with Triton Financial of Austin, Texas, from 2007 to 2009.
He said he never would have made those investments if he had gotten the truth from former company chief executive Kurt Barton.
“I’ve had a lot of sleepless nights,” said Akers, who told federal prosecutor Mark Lane that he considered Barton to be like a friend. “As I said, this is my family’s future. I said that to Kurt a lot of times. I said, ‘Man I’m trusting in you.’ “
Prosecuters say Barton regularly lied to investors about where their money actually ended up; instead he built up a $50 million Ponzi scheme.
Barton says it was just a series of bad business decisions, nothing illegal.
Safety Sean Considine of the Carolina Panthers says he was also ripped off in the scheme. Considine met Barton in 2007 while playing for the Eagles. Koy Detmer -- with Philadelphia at the time -- and his brother, Ty, a Heisman Trophy winner, introduced Barton to the Akers and Considine.
Considine said that NFL players are trained to spot scam artists promising unrealistic returns on their money but Barton only spoke of 10 percent to 15 percent investments annually.
Barton told the players that Triton invested in real estate investments in only deals that paid cash and did not rely on debt, Considine said. That was attractive to players who were wary of a rocky stock market, he said.
“He was even so confident that he bet me a little side ($1,000) bet that Triton Financial would beat the return of the Dow Jones Industrial Average,” Considine said.
“I think he would owe me a thousand.”
You can read the reports here:
http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/dish/201108/nfls-top-scorer-2000s-loses-37-million-ponzi-scheme
and
http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/courts/entries/2011/08/15/nfl_kicker_akers_said_he_lost.html
Posted by Kevin K
According to a report from Yahoo Sports, San Francisco 49ers (former Eagle) kicker David Akers testified in front of a federal jury on Monday about losing $3.7 million investing with Triton Financial of Austin, Texas, from 2007 to 2009.
He said he never would have made those investments if he had gotten the truth from former company chief executive Kurt Barton.
“I’ve had a lot of sleepless nights,” said Akers, who told federal prosecutor Mark Lane that he considered Barton to be like a friend. “As I said, this is my family’s future. I said that to Kurt a lot of times. I said, ‘Man I’m trusting in you.’ “
Prosecuters say Barton regularly lied to investors about where their money actually ended up; instead he built up a $50 million Ponzi scheme.
Barton says it was just a series of bad business decisions, nothing illegal.
Safety Sean Considine of the Carolina Panthers says he was also ripped off in the scheme. Considine met Barton in 2007 while playing for the Eagles. Koy Detmer -- with Philadelphia at the time -- and his brother, Ty, a Heisman Trophy winner, introduced Barton to the Akers and Considine.
Considine said that NFL players are trained to spot scam artists promising unrealistic returns on their money but Barton only spoke of 10 percent to 15 percent investments annually.
Barton told the players that Triton invested in real estate investments in only deals that paid cash and did not rely on debt, Considine said. That was attractive to players who were wary of a rocky stock market, he said.
“He was even so confident that he bet me a little side ($1,000) bet that Triton Financial would beat the return of the Dow Jones Industrial Average,” Considine said.
“I think he would owe me a thousand.”
You can read the reports here:
http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/dish/201108/nfls-top-scorer-2000s-loses-37-million-ponzi-scheme
and
http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/courts/entries/2011/08/15/nfl_kicker_akers_said_he_lost.html
Posted by Kevin K
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