Former Minnesota Vikings Co-Owner Convicted in $700 Million Cryptocurrency Scam
The Manhattan federal court has convicted the former co-owner of the Minnesota Vikings, Reginald Fowler, for a $700 million crypto scam.
Washington Post reported that Fowler, aged 64, defrauded the Alliance of American Football (AAF), a now-shut-down professional football league, in a fraudulent crypto investment.
The sentence announced by the US Attorney’s Office in New York noted that the Arizona-based businessman would serve a 75-month jail term.
Also, he will forfeit $740 million and pay restitution of $53 million.
Red McCombs, owner of Minnesota Vikings, announced the proposed sale of the team to Fowler on February 14, 2005, in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
According to the report, Fowler attempted to buy NFL's Minnesota Vikings in 2005 and became the team's minority owner before his involvement ended in 2014.
The AAF shut down in 2019 after suddenly going bankrupt and could no longer sustain its operations.
Before the shutdown, Fowler lied to the league's executives, claiming he could support the AAF with fat bank accounts holding millions of dollars from real estate investments and government contracts.
But Prosecutors charged the 64-year-old Folwer with bank fraud and money laundering.
He allegedly carried out the scheme involving over $700 million in unregulated transactions over ten months in 2018
Attorney Damian Williams, the prosecuting lawyer, said that Fowler violated the law by processing millions of dollars in unregulated transactions on behalf of crypto exchanges used as shadow banks.
“He did so by lying to legitimate US financial institutions, which exposed the US financial system to serious risk,” said attorney Williams.
“He then victimized a professional football league by lying about his net worth in exchange
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