Marcus Douthit, the Lakers’ second-round pick, was charged Thursday with taking part in a Rhode Island identity theft and embezzlement scheme that allegedly filed more than $160,000 in false slip-and-fall and car accident claims.
Douthit was indicted by a statewide grand jury on one count of conspiracy to commit embezzlement and embezzlement over $100. He was alleged to have received $6,500 from faking a car accident in December 2001 and filing a false insurance claim. Douthit’s agent, Charles Bonsignore, said his client is innocent and that the accused ringleaders of the scam, James Cook and Kristen Cook, obtained Douthit’s social security number after befriending him and used it to file the claim without his knowledge.
