Robinson was born in Mandeville, Jamaica, in the west-central portion of the island. His mother moved to the Boston area while he was a toddler, leaving him in his grandparents' care. Shortly after he turned 10 years old, his grandparents sent him to the United States in hopes of reuniting him with his mother. However, his mother made it clear that she didn't want him, and he was reduced to sleeping in apartment halls and Harvard College dorm stairways.[1][2]
Early in the 1977–78 school year, he was taken in by Helen and Lou Ford, a respected local couple. They adopted him in 1978. He blossomed into a star guard at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, leading them to a state championship in 1986.[2]
In the NBA, Robinson's play was very inconsistent. His last season as a regular player was 1992-93, his first year in New Jersey; after that year, he never played in more than 54 games a season.
Robinson made some $5 million in the NBA, but spent it on a lavish lifestyle. He went through money so irresponsibly, he neglected to pay his bills. He was forced into bankruptcy in 1998.[2]
Post-playing career, criminal activity and conviction
61⁄2 years in federal prison, $1.2 million in restitution, five years' supervised release
After his playing career was over, Robinson moved to Miami and attempted to become a property developer in his native Jamaica. He planned to build a 25,000 acre resort in his hometown called Harmony Cove. As part of his bid to attract investors, he persuaded his adoptive mother to take out a second mortgage on her house and lend it to Robinson as seed money. He promised to cover all the payments, and promised to give her $500,000 once the project was finished.[2][1][6]
However, his high living in the 1990s had all but destroyed his credit, and he was unable to find a bank willing to lend him any money. Through a friend, he was referred to Community State Bank in Ankeny, Iowa. The bank's senior loan officer, Brian Williams, approved a $377,000 bridge loan to Robinson's company, Megaladon Development—ostensibly to help with advertising and business plans. Robinson paid $100,000 of the loan back to Williams as a bribe to move the approval process forward.[1][7][6]
Over the next year and a half, Robinson received $1.2 million in loans from Community State Bank, all approved by Williams. However, he never paid the bank a single penny, and barely five percent of the money went toward developing Harmony Cove. The rest of it was used to buy expensive clothes, meals, motorcycles, jewelry, and other items.[1][6]
The fraud was uncovered when Williams tried to hide the bad loans by rolling the interest and penalties into the principal for a new loan. One of Williams' subordinates was alarmed enough to alert bank officials. Community State Bank fired Williams and sued Megaladon for nonpayment. In August 2006, Community State Bank won $535,000 in damages. During the proceedings, it emerged that Robinson hadn't paid taxes since his playing days. During depositions to ascertain his net worth, Robinson admitted he had no net worth, and lived on roughly $20 at a time. His only possessions were a change of pants.[1][6]
Soon after the arrest, his adoptive mother Helen Ford came forward and accused Robinson of swindling her out of her home. Unknown to Ford, Robinson had arranged to sell Ford's house to one of his business partners, Miami foreclosure specialist Rick Preston, for $250,000. Preston later sold the house to another business partner, Jorge Rodriguez, for $600,000. In turn, Rodriguez sold it to Stephen Hodge, the brother of Robinson's girlfriend at the time, for $1 million. The money was ostensibly intended to help build Harmony Cove, but was wasted on lavish spending and paying other debts. While Robinson initially tried to keep up the payments, the mortgage went unserviced for so long that a bank foreclosed on her house in 2007. In 2009, Ford was forced to move out of her home. By this time, Robinson had lost possession of his expensive condo in Aventura, and was living in a squalid, budget motel in North Miami Beach. Ford eventually got her home back in 2013.[2][6]
On September 8, 2010, Robinson was convicted on 11 counts of bank bribery, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution.[8] On January 7, 2011, federal judge Ronald E. Longstaff sentenced Robinson to 61⁄2 years (78 months) in prison.[9][4][10] He was also ordered to pay $1,184,615 in restitution to Community State Bank and St. Paul Mercury Insurance.[11] Robinson appealed his sentence in September 2011, claiming judge Longstaff had denied him a chance to change lawyers and had improperly taken his allocution statement into account at sentencing. A panel of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the sentence in December.[12]
In March, 2012, a federal judge ruled that US$369,000 of Robinson's pension fund could be seized to help cover restitution owed due to his sham business deal.[9]
Robinson served his sentence at various federal prisons in South Carolina, Louisiana and Florida. He was released on September 19, 2016 on five years' supervised release.[11]
Related Research Articles
Daron Oshay "Mookie" Blaylock is an American former professional basketball player. He spent 13 years in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the New Jersey Nets, Atlanta Hawks, and the Golden State Warriors.
Jayson Williams is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 11 seasons, primarily with the New Jersey Nets. He played his first three seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers, who acquired him in trade with the Phoenix Suns following the 1990 NBA draft. Williams spent the remainder of his career with the Nets and was an All-Star in 1998. He was inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.
Irving Dale Fryar Sr. is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. Fryar played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and was recognized as a unanimous All-American. He was selected with the first overall pick of the 1984 NFL draft, becoming the second wide receiver to be taken number one overall, the first being Dave Parks in 1964. Fryar played professionally for the New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles, and Washington Redskins of the NFL. Known for his longevity, his best seasons statistically came well into his 30s, at a time when many receivers are on the tail end of their careers, and he played for 17 seasons, retiring at the age of 39 holding several NFL longevity records for receivers.
Mark Valentino Ingram Sr. is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants (1987–1992), the Miami Dolphins, the Green Bay Packers (1995), and the Philadelphia Eagles (1996). He played college football for the Michigan State Spartans. He is the father of Mark Ingram II, who won the Heisman Trophy in 2009 and is the New Orleans Saints' all-time leader in rushing yards.
Arthur Ernest Schlichter is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons with the Baltimore / Indianapolis Colts franchise. He also played one Canadian Football League (CFL) season with the Ottawa Rough Riders and three Arena Football League (AFL) seasons with the Detroit Drive and Cincinnati Rockers. A highly touted college football prospect with the Ohio State Buckeyes, Schlichter's professional career was cut short by a gambling addiction that resulted in him facing legal trouble for nearly four decades.
Chris Raymond Gatling is an American former professional basketball player. Gatling played for many National Basketball Association (NBA) teams from 1991 to 2002. He played for the US national team in the 1990 FIBA World Championship, winning the bronze medal.
Lorenzen Vern-Gagne Wright was an American professional basketball player for thirteen seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted seventh overall in the 1996 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Clippers and also played for the Atlanta Hawks, Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Chuck Connors Person is an American former basketball player and coach. Person played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and was the 1987 NBA Rookie of the Year. Person played college basketball at Auburn University and was selected fourth overall in the 1986 NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers, for whom he played six seasons. He also played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, San Antonio Spurs, Charlotte Hornets and Seattle SuperSonics.
Robert DeShaun "Tractor" Traylor was an American professional basketball player. He got his nickname because of his hulking frame. Traylor was the sixth pick in the 1998 NBA draft and played seven seasons in the league. He averaged 4.8 points per game, mainly as a reserve center and forward.
Keyon Latwae Dooling is an American basketball coach and former professional basketball player who played the guard position.
Michael D. Jarvis is an American college basketball coach most recently as head men's basketball coach at Florida Atlantic University. He has coached at Boston University, George Washington University and St. John's University. He also has worked as a commentator for college basketball games on ESPN. His career college coaching record in over 18 seasons is 364–201.
Jay Fletcher Vincent is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans. Vincent was selected 24th overall by the Dallas Mavericks in the 1981 NBA draft. He played for several NBA teams, including the Dallas Mavericks, Washington Bullets, Denver Nuggets, San Antonio Spurs, Philadelphia 76ers, and Los Angeles Lakers. Vincent also played professionally in Italy.
Matthew Bevan "Matt" Cox is an American former mortgage broker and admitted mortgage fraudster and con man. Cox, also a true crime author, wrote an unpublished manuscript entitled The Associates in which the main character traveled the country to perpetrate a mortgage fraud scheme similar to the one Cox ran.
The University of Michigan basketball scandal, or the Ed Martin scandal, concerned National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) rules violations resulting from the relationship between the University of Michigan, its men's basketball program, and booster Eddie L. "Ed" Martin. The violations principally involved payments booster Martin made to several players to launder money from an illegal gambling operation. It is one of the largest incidents involving payments to athletes in American collegiate history. An initial investigation by the school was joined by the NCAA, Big Ten Conference, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). As a result of this investigation, Michigan's basketball program was punished with sanctions.
Thomas Joseph Petters is a former American businessman and chairman and CEO of Petters Group Worldwide, a company which stole over $2 billion in a Ponzi scheme. He was convicted of massive business fraud in 2009 and was imprisoned at the United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth. Amid mounting criminal investigations, Petters resigned as his company's CEO on September 29, 2008. He was convicted of numerous federal crimes for operating Petters Group Worldwide as a $3.65 billion Ponzi scheme and received a 50-year federal sentence.
Oliver Leon Robinson Jr is a retired American basketball player who played shooting guard for the NBA's San Antonio Spurs.
Nevin Karey Shapiro is a convicted felon who received a 20-year prison sentence for orchestrating a $930 million Ponzi scheme. According to interviews, he allegedly engaged in rampant violations of NCAA rules over eight years as a booster for University of Miami athletes. Shapiro allegedly provided football players cash, goods, prostitutes, and assorted favors.
Corruption in Illinois has been a problem from the earliest history of the state. Electoral fraud in Illinois pre-dates the territory's admission to the Union in 1818. Illinois had the third most federal criminal convictions for public corruption between 1976 and 2012, behind New York and California. A study published by the University of Illinois Chicago in 2022 ranked Illinois as the second most corrupt state in the nation, with 4 out of the last 11 governors serving time in prison.
Duncan McBryde Robinson is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the NCAA Division III Williams College Ephs and then the NCAA Division I Michigan Wolverines. He transferred to Michigan after leading Williams College to the 2014 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament championship game. At Michigan, he was part of the 2017–18 team that lost to Villanova in the championship game of the 2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
The 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball corruption scandal was a corruption scandal, initially involving sportswear manufacturer Adidas as well as several college basketball programs associated with the brand but now involving many programs not affiliated with Adidas.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
