Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

U-Conned: Charlie Villanueva testified Husky legend, alleged Ponzi schemer Tate George defrauded $250k

Charlie Villanueva

Detroit Pistons forward Charlie Villanueva (31) gestures after making a three-point basket during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Bobcats at the Palace in Auburn Hills, Mich., Friday, April 12, 2013. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

AP

Tate George made one of the most important shots in UConn history, a highlight that has been played over and over again during all NCAA tournaments.

With just one second left on the clock in a 1990 Sweet 16 matchup with Clemson, George caught a pass that was thrown the length of the floor and hit a turn-around jumper for a buzzer-beating, 71-70 win. You’ve seen the play before. If you’re a UConn fan, you know the name Tate George.

Unfortunately, life for George has taken a turn for the worse. Two years ago, George turned himself in to federal authorities on charges that he ran a Ponzi scheme that netted him more than $2 million for fake real estate deals. He faces five counts of wire fraud, each carrying with it a maximum sentence of 20 years.

To make matters worse, one of the people that George conned out of money was another Husky alum, Charlie Villanueva. Villanueva had just signed a $30 million deal with the Pistons, and as a way to give back to the Connecticut community, he invested $250,000 with George in a project he believed would help develop a rundown area in Bridgeport. The Trentonian has the details:

George didn’t send a key letter to the home of Detroit Piston Charlie Villanueva in Rochester, Michigan, testimony revealed. The papers saying the pro baller’s $250,000 could be used any way George wanted instead were mistakenly sent to Rochester, Minn.

Villanueva wasn’t the only former NBA player that George conned out of a six figure investment. He also tricked Brevin Knight out of $300,000 that was supposed to be used to buy a home in New Jersey. George instead used the money to pay off investors from prior deals.

Follow @robdauster