The Kings have experienced so much internal dysfunction, it can be numbing.
But this latest issue to come to light sure is eye-popping.
Sam Stanton and Darrell Smith of The Sacramento Bee:A former top executive of the Sacramento Kings is suspected of siphoning off $13.4 million from two of the team’s top sponsors and using the funds to purchase beachfront property in Southern California, sources have told The Sacramento Bee.
The FBI and federal prosecutors are investigating Jeffrey R. David, 44, the former chief revenue officer for the Kings who currently holds the same position with the NBA’s Miami Heat, for what sources say was a sophisticated money-laundering scheme that allegedly diverted $9 million from the Golden 1 Credit Union and another $4.4 million from Kaiser Permanente Foundation.Kings attorney William Portanova confirmed the team went to federal officials with findings of an internal investigation, and noted that because of the team’s swift actions, all assets are being recovered with no loss to the team or the companies.
“This was an amazing response by the FBI and the U.S. attorney,” Portanova said. “It’s rare to be able to identify the culprit and return the diverted assets as quickly as the FBI has.”This sounds very bad for David.