Former New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens linebacker Adalius Thomas was one of several people defrauded by Chicago lawyer Gary Stern in a tax credits scheme.
According to Jason Meisner of the Chicago Tribune, Stern was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Wednesday for the fraud scheme that Thomas told the court has left his credit is such ruin that he cannot even lease a car.
“I can’t go and say, ‘I’m a good person, can you excuse this?’” Thomas said.
Stern’s actions stuck Thomas with a bill from the IRS of nearly $1 million that he is working to repay. The scheme involved investing money in fraudulent renewable energy tax credits. The result was defrauding the government of millions of dollars of tax revenue and leaving the individuals stuck with the financial damage.
Stern pleaded guilty to the charges last year but had not yet been sentenced. Ray Lewis, Terrell Owens and Duane Starks are other former NFL players listed as having been defrauded by Stern in the court filings. Per Meisner, close to 20 NFL players lost money in the fraud.