A Georgia man responsible for scamming former NBA players in two separate schemes has been sentenced to a lengthy prison term.
Calvin Darden Jr. of Atlanta was convicted of multiple crimes by a jury in Manhattan back in October 2024.
On Thursday, a federal judge in the city sentenced Darden to more than 12 years in a federal prison and ordered him to forfeit $8million.
He’s also being mandated to hand over multiple luxury items he purchased with those stolen funds – including a $3.7m Atlanta mansion, a Lamborghini, a Rolls Royce, and a $600,000 artwork by the late New York City artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Darden was convicted of scamming former NBA big man Dwight Howard out of $7million in a scheme promising to purchase the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream.
In addition, Darden stole $1million from another former NBA star, Chandler Parsons.
A man who stole $7million from ex-NBAer Dwight Howard was sentenced to 12 years in prison
The man stole the funds from Howard with the stated intent of buying the Atlanta Dream
Parsons was extorted in part of a scheme involving the development of then-NBA prospect James Wiseman.
Darden was allowed to the leave the proceedings after waiving his right to be present and telling the judge he had suffered a concussion last week while in custody, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Howard testified during the trial that Darden fooled him into giving him $7 million by convincing him that it was an investment toward the purchase of the Dream.
But the eight-time All-Star and three-time NBA defensive player of the year acknowledged he only learned he wasn’t an owner of the Dream when ESPN reported the team had been sold to an investor group that included former Dream guard Renee Montgomery in 2021.
Prosecutors said Darden and a sports agent also conned Parsons into sending $1 million that was supposed to aid in the development of James Wiseman, who was drafted by the Golden State Warriors as the second overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft.
But the two didn’t know Wiseman, and the player never agreed to be represented by the agent as they claimed to Parsons.
Wiseman last played for the Indiana Pacers before being traded to the Toronto Raptors, who waived him earlier this year.
Darden was ultimately convicted by a jury in October of wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering charges.
The same person also was sentenced for stealing $1m from ex-NBA star Chandler Parsons
Parsons was robbed of his money in a scheme about the development of James Wiseman
He was previously sentenced to a year in federal prison in New York for impersonating his father, Cal Darden, a former executive at Atlanta-based United Parcel Service, in a failed bid to buy Maxim magazine.
Howard played for seven franchises after the Orlando Magic took him with the No. 1 overall selection in the 2004 draft.
He won his lone NBA тιтle with the Los Angeles Lakers during the pandemic-affected 2019-20 season.
Parsons had a nine-year NBA career playing for Houston, Dallas, Memphis and Atlanta teams.
The Atlanta Dream were once co-owned by former Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, but she was pressured to sell after clashing with players over her opposition to the league´s racial justice initiatives.
