Doyle sentenced for embezzlement at sports institute

PROVIDENCE – A former boxing promoter, ex-college basketball coach and founder of a Rhode Island-based sport institute who was convicted of embezzlement has been sentenced to a total of 15 years in prison, with seven years to serve and the remainder suspended with probation.

Dan Doyle of the Institute for International Sport was convicted in December after a nearly three month trial of seven counts of embezzlement, one count of obtaining money under false pretenses, five counts of forgery, and five counts of filing a false document.

Prosecutors say the 68-year-old West Hartford resident used the institute as a personal piggybank, taking out money to cover the cost of college tuition, plastic surgery, and wedding expenses for his children.

Investigators say Doyle embezzled approximately $1.14 million from the institute, a nonprofit he founded in 1986 with the mission to use sports and the arts to forge relationships on a global scale and to address societal issues.

Of the Institute’s programs, one of the best known was the World Scholar Athlete Games held at the University of Rhode Island.

Doyle had sought a new trial. A judge denied that motion earlier this year.

Superior Court Justice Melanie Wilk Thunberg sentenced Doyle to a total of 15 years with seven years to serve and the remainder suspended with probation. In addition, Doyle was ordered to pay $550,000 in restitution to the Hassenfeld Foundation and was ordered to undergo an evaluation for counseling.

Justice Thunberg sentenced Doyle to 15 years with seven to serve and the remainder suspended with probation on each of the seven counts of embezzlement; 10 years with five years to serve and the remainder suspended with proba- tion on the one count of obtaining money under false pretenses; 10 years with five to serve and the remainder suspended with probation on each of the five counts of forgery; and one year suspended with probation on each of the five counts of filing a false document. All sentences were ordered to run concurrent to one another.

After the nearly three-month trial which started in September 2016, Doyle was found guilty of seven counts of embezzlement, one count of obtaining money under false pretenses, five counts of forgery, and five counts of filing a false document.

During the trial, prosecutors said that Doyle embezzled approximately $750,000 in unauthorized salary payments and loan payments from 2005 through 2011., and embezzled nearly $150,000 by paying the monthly balance on his personal American Express card from the Institute’s accounts for unauthorized purchases including cosmetic eye surgery, Starbucks, restaurant and bar bills, clothing, groceries, and other items.

Doyle also used approximately $100,000 to make tuition payments from the Institute accounts to Kingswood Oxford School and Oberlin College for his daughter, as well a $22,000 payment from the Institute accounts to fulfill a $50,000 personal pledge Doyle made to Bates College, according to investigators.

Prosecutors said that Doyle obtained a charitable gift from the Hassenfeld Foundation under false pretenses when he misled the Foundation that the monies would be used to construct a building to support the Institute. Doyle failed to inform the Foundation that the funding for the building had already been secured and squandered. The building, located on property owned by the University of Rhode Island, remains an empty shell to this day.

“Today’s sentence reflects the deceit Dan Doyle perpetrated in his elaborate fraud that bilked honest and admirable individuals out of hundreds of thousands of dollars and destroyed the mission and purpose of the International Institute of Sport, which he founded, in order to sustain a lifestyle he felt he was entitled to,” said Attorney General Peter Kilmartin. “At some point, the Institute became less about bringing young people together to celebrate sport, community, and academics, and more about Dan Doyle, which resulted in the lies, the greed, and the cover up that led to his downfall.”

The investigation was led by Rhode Island State Police Detective Courtney Elliot, Investigator Gerard Ratigan, and Lieutenant Robert Creamer. Assistant Attorneys General Mark Trovato and J. Patrick Youngs and Special Assistant Attorney General Ryan Stys prosecuted the case on behalf of the Office of Attorney General Rhode Island.