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Ex-Bronco Atwater says money manager charged with fraud was given OK
Steve Atwater helped attract investors to failed funds.
By James Paton, Rocky Mountain News
June 27, 2006
Steve Atwater, the former Denver Broncos safety, and others have accused the National Football League and its players association of endorsing a fraudulent hedge fund manager without adequate background checks.
The football players said in a June 23 lawsuit that they relied on the recommendation before parking about $20 million in funds offered by Kirk Wright, head of International Management Associates.
They said they used the NFL Players Association's financial adviser program, created to protect them and the big money they earned against crooked money managers. And it did not live up to the promise, the players said.
"The program, the NFL and the Players Association failed us, and we've lost millions," Atwater said in a statement released Monday by his lawyers. "We want to fix the program and make sure this never happens again."
Onetime Pro-Bowler Blaine Bishop called the NFL's approval of Wright "outrageous."
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league "looks forward" to responding and will review the lawsuit with its attorneys.
"We believe the allegations are unfounded and without merit," he told the Rocky Mountain News late Monday.
Wright, a Harvard-educated money manager, was arrested recently at a Miami hotel and charged with fraud. The Atlanta businessman is accused of hiding massive losses from investors after raising up to $185 million.
Little of the money is left, court papers show.
Atwater and the rest of the investors said in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Northern Georgia that Wright and a partner had tax liens and judgments against them.
And Wright lacked the right insurance coverage, they said.
Bishop contacted an NFL official in mid-2004 and requested a background check, the papers state.
However, the NFL reported back to the players that "there were no red flags that would raise any concerns," according to the lawsuit.
They alleged that the defendants "breached their duties" and are "liable" for their losses.
Atwater didn't spot the red flags either.
The former Broncos star went to work for the Atlanta firm as a "client liaison," helping to attract new investors, according to earlier legal documents.
The group of investors also included Rod Smith, Terrell Davis and Ray Crockett, Atwater's former teammates on Broncos teams that went on to win two Super Bowls in the late 1990s.
The lawsuit noted that "historically, NFL players had been targeted by unscrupulous individuals because many have multimillion-dollar annual incomes as a result of large signing bonuses, high salaries and product endorsements."
patonj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-2544
Steve Atwater helped attract investors to failed funds.
By James Paton, Rocky Mountain News
June 27, 2006
Steve Atwater, the former Denver Broncos safety, and others have accused the National Football League and its players association of endorsing a fraudulent hedge fund manager without adequate background checks.
The football players said in a June 23 lawsuit that they relied on the recommendation before parking about $20 million in funds offered by Kirk Wright, head of International Management Associates.
They said they used the NFL Players Association's financial adviser program, created to protect them and the big money they earned against crooked money managers. And it did not live up to the promise, the players said.
"The program, the NFL and the Players Association failed us, and we've lost millions," Atwater said in a statement released Monday by his lawyers. "We want to fix the program and make sure this never happens again."
Onetime Pro-Bowler Blaine Bishop called the NFL's approval of Wright "outrageous."
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league "looks forward" to responding and will review the lawsuit with its attorneys.
"We believe the allegations are unfounded and without merit," he told the Rocky Mountain News late Monday.
Wright, a Harvard-educated money manager, was arrested recently at a Miami hotel and charged with fraud. The Atlanta businessman is accused of hiding massive losses from investors after raising up to $185 million.
Little of the money is left, court papers show.
Atwater and the rest of the investors said in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Northern Georgia that Wright and a partner had tax liens and judgments against them.
And Wright lacked the right insurance coverage, they said.
Bishop contacted an NFL official in mid-2004 and requested a background check, the papers state.
However, the NFL reported back to the players that "there were no red flags that would raise any concerns," according to the lawsuit.
They alleged that the defendants "breached their duties" and are "liable" for their losses.
Atwater didn't spot the red flags either.
The former Broncos star went to work for the Atlanta firm as a "client liaison," helping to attract new investors, according to earlier legal documents.
The group of investors also included Rod Smith, Terrell Davis and Ray Crockett, Atwater's former teammates on Broncos teams that went on to win two Super Bowls in the late 1990s.
The lawsuit noted that "historically, NFL players had been targeted by unscrupulous individuals because many have multimillion-dollar annual incomes as a result of large signing bonuses, high salaries and product endorsements."
patonj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-2544
