Former Brown ordered to pay restitution

Imprisoned former football player stole from nonprofits.

Imprisoned CLEVELAND — former Cleveland Browns wide receiver Reggie Rucker must use any money he may receive as part of a class-action settlement between the NFL and former players over concussions to repay money he stole from his anti-violence nonprofits, a federal judge ordered.

Rucker, 70, and his attorneys said previously that they will use any settlement money — if it comes — to repay the more than $110,000 he pleaded guilty to stealing from the Cleveland Peacemakers Alliance and other groups. U.S. District Judge Dan Polster’s garnishment order, issued Friday, makes that a mandate.

The federal government is already garnishing $394 a month from Rucker’s NFL pension.

If Rucker receives any money from the concussion settlement, it would not come for some time. Football players who feel they are entitled to damages have more than a year to submit claims.

Rucker’s attorneys previously said he suffered at least seven or eight concussions during his 13-year career, three of which came from blows that knocked him unconscious.

Justin Withrow, an attorney for Rucker, said Monday that it is his “anticipation and hope” that the money his client may receive as part of the class-action settlement will cover the remaining restitution amount and then some. However, they will not know the amount until a claims administrator reviews and approves Rucker’s petition, Withrow said.

The former wide receiver pleaded guilty in February 2016 to wire fraud and making false statements to the FBI. He admitted to using the bank accounts of his nonprofit agencies as his own. Polster sentenced him in August 2016 to 21 months in federal prison.

Rucker wrote himself checks for thousands of dollars and withdrew cash at ATMs and casinos across the country, prosecutors say. He often ran the nonprofit agencies into the red — sometimes while his outreach workers went months without paychecks.

Rucker used the stolen money to pay off gambling debts and personal expenses, all while making impassioned pleas for money from other philanthropic organizations and the city of Cleveland.

He argued that traumatic brain injury from the concussions he suffered during his football career may have caused his actions. Prosecutors scoffed at the assertion.