Fraud still plagues trusting athletes

A former NFL player was informed by a bank teller that suspicious withdrawals were siphoning away his money. Another was persuaded to try to rescue a losing investment with an additional $700,000. A third player spent years in court trying to claw back $500,000 from a misleading real estate project.

All three were clients of financial planner Michael Rowan, who was sentenced to prison on April 26 for stealing money from wealthy athletes. It’s a cautionary tale for the instant millionaires who now know where they’ll be playing professional football after the NFL draft but still figuring out how to manage their new wealth.

They want to avoid joining a long list of pros who have been steered into questionable investments, or have been swindled out of money by advisers. In the 1980s, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar accused a former business manager of mishandling millions. More recently, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees filed a lawsuit claiming a former teammate steered $160,000 of his money into a bogus investment.

The NFL Players Association has a program for vetting financial advisers, but it’s voluntary. NFLPA records indicate that Rowan was never registered with its financial advisers program, spokeswoman Kaitlin Murphy said in an email. The money manager received five years in prison for stealing nearly $3 million from clients.

To avoid rip-offs, lawyers and legal scholars advise players to do research and seek advice from their contract agents, who often work for established firms.

“Do your homework, do your research and find someone who’s got experience, who’s got integrity, and have them handle your affairs. Not somebody’s friend or someone you’ve met at the bar, or a family member,” said lawyer J.E. Cullens, who represented lineman Glenn Dorsey in a lawsuit against Rowan.

Dorsey hired Rowan before he was drafted in 2008 by Kansas City. A lawyer wrote that Dorsey gave Rowan access to manage his financial affairs because of a schedule that “prevents him from closely monitoring his bank account.”

But a bank branch employee informed Dorsey of suspicious withdrawals, and he eventually sued Rowan, who pleaded guilty late last year to moving clients’ money without permission into accounts he controlled.

His firm was also sued by NFL players Earnest Graham, Alex Brown and Craig Davis over questionable investments. Rowan declined to comment through his lawyer.