Henderson sports agent is jailed for fleecing client

Kim Smith

Wednesday, March 8, 2000 | 11:19 a.m.

A Henderson sports agent who pleaded guilty to stealing $36,000 from pro basketball player Jennifer Azzi was sentenced to just under two years in prison Tuesday.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Schiess said U.S. District Judge David Hagen, during a hearing Tuesday, gave Ronald Allen 21 months in prison and ordered him to pay full restitution.

Allen, 49, was originally indicted in October 1998 on three counts of wire fraud and one count of bank fraud in connection with a scam in which four professional basketball players, including Azzi, were the victims.

Allen pleaded guilty to the bank fraud count in July in exchange for the government dismissing the other counts.

According to the indictment, the women -- Azzi, Andrea Lloyd, Angela Aycock and Tari Davis, all players in the American Basketball League -- had agreed to wear Reebok sportswear under an endorsement contract.

Allen, who was the women's agent, faxed Reebok and the ABL fake endorsement contracts from Nike in the fall of 1997 in the hopes that Reebok would match or increase the women's contracts, the indictment states.

If Allen had been able to convince Reebok that Nike was paying the women and Reebok agreed to give the women more than Nike, Allen would have received a percentage. Court records indicate Reebok stood to lose more than $108,000.

The charge stemmed from the allegation that during this same time, Allen endorsed a $36,000 check to Azzi from Lanktree Sports Celebrity, deposited it into his account and then spent it.

Allen, who must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence before being eligible for release, was given until May 31 to report to Federal Bureau of Prisons officials.