Bank records link Marion Jones to money scam
Alleged scheme led to charges against sprinter's track coach, ex-boyfriend
Charles Platiau / Reuters fileDocuments filed in a federal court in Manhattan show a $25,000 check made out to Marion Jones was deposited in her bank account from a Virginia man whom prosecutors have accused of enlisting friends and business partners to help launder the proceeds of the multimillion-dollar plot.
updated 12:38 a.m. ET July 16, 2006
NEW YORK - Bank records connect star sprinter Marion Jones to an alleged check-counterfeiting scheme that led to criminal charges against her coach and ex-boyfriend Tim Montgomery.
Documents filed in a federal court in Manhattan show a $25,000 check made out to Jones was deposited in her bank account from a Virginia man whom prosecutors have accused of enlisting friends and business partners to help launder the proceeds of the multimillion-dollar plot.
The money was drawn on an account established with one of $5 million worth of stolen, forged or doctored checks that investigators said the conspiracy attempted to cash over three years. The five-time Olympic gold medalist has not been charged with any wrongdoing, and prosecutors initially took pains to keep her name out of the case.
In an indictment unsealed in April she was referred to as a “close associate of Timothy Montgomery.”
Her name subsequently surfaced in court filings in late June by one of the defense attorneys.
None of those court records reveal whether Jones was aware of the source of the money or was personally involved in collecting the payment. A photocopy of the $25,000 check is signed with her name.
That check was deposited but never cleared, meaning Jones never received the money.
Federal prosecutors declined to discuss Jones’ role in the case, noting that she has not been charged. Prosecutors said a grand jury continues to hear evidence related to the case. Further charges are possible.
Jones’ agent, Charles Wells, did not return a phone message Thursday. A lawyer who has frequently represented her, Richard Nichols, also did not return a phone call.
At least 11 people have been indicted so far in the case.
Jones’ track coach, the 1976 Olympic gold medalist Steven Riddick, was arrested in February on charges that he helped a ring of New York con artists convert bogus checks into cash by laundering them through accounts he controlled.
In the scheme described by prosecutors, some of the funds were sent to Riddick in Virginia, then funneled back to New York through a network of “friends, relatives and associates.”
Prosecutors charged Montgomery, the former 100-meter world record holder, with depositing three of the bad checks and taking a $20,000 commission for passing some funds back to the conspirators.
Riddick and Montgomery, a 2000 Olympic gold medalist, both have pleaded innocent and denied knowingly receiving any stolen or counterfeit checks. Montgomery’s attorney, Robert McFarland, said the two men were themselves victims of a con and thought they were being paid honest money for “normal business opportunities.”
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According to the indictment, and subsequent documents filed with the court, the link to Jones was made through one of Riddick’s business partners, Nathaniel Alexander.
Attorneys said Alexander set up a bank account with a check for $31.50 that had been altered to make it appear as if it was for $850,000.
The check initially cleared in late April of 2005, then was flagged by the bank as suspicious and was reversed in early May. In the meantime, the account was used to make large payments to several people.
Court records indicate those checks were deposited but never cleared.
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