Two Ohio men who prosecutors say deceived the general manager of the Los Angeles Clippers in an investment scheme involving $250,000 have agreed to repay him.
Bradley Konerman, 40, of Mason and Adam Salon, 48, of Toledo pleaded guilty June 17 to a felony charge in connection with the alleged scheme.
At a hearing in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court, Judge Robert Winkler ordered the men to pay restitution to Trent Redden, the Clippers general manager.
Redden already had received back $110,000. Konerman and Salon were prepared to write checks June 17 totaling an additional $140,000 to send to Redden.
According to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, which prosecuted the case, Konerman and Salon owned and operated Gamechange Group, LLC, which was based in Norwood.
The company was involved in providing financing to companies so they could buy medical supplies during the Covid-19 pandemic.
How prosecutors say the scheme worked
In April 2020, according to court documents, Konerman solicited Redden to invest with Gamechange, for the purpose of providing financing to buy masks, gowns and personal protective equipment from a Miamisburg company. But the Miamisburg company was in financial distress – something that was not disclosed to Redden, prosecutors said.
Redden wired $250,000 to Gamechange. But the money was then wired to a third company in Blue Ash, which sent money to the Miamisburg company for the personal protective equipment. The Miamisburg company sold the equipment and wired the Blue Ash company’s bank $250,000. The Blue Ash company then wired the money to Gamechange.
But instead of paying Redden his investment back, prosecutors said Salon and Konerman misappropriated the money, wiring $75,000 to a company in Lucas County affiliated with Salon and $100,000 to another company.
Salon and Konerman both pleaded guilty to misrepresentation during the sale of a security. They and their attorneys declined to make statements in court.
Winkler also sentenced them to one year of probation but that will be terminated once their payments to Redden are confirmed.
Both men were among multiple people initially charged in connection with a separate but related scheme involving the Toledo investment firm Northwest Capital. Lending institutions and more than 200 people were defrauded out of $72 million in the scheme, prosecutors said.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio men plead guilty in fraud case involving LA Clippers manager
Reporting by Kevin Grasha, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
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By Kevin Grasha, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
