A former high school and college football star who played for the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles was sentenced in early January to 40 years in prison in a $10 million fraud involving 63 investors.
Specifically, 39-year-old Merrill Robertson Jr., along with co-conspirator Sherman Carl Vaughn, 48, targeted their victims’ retirement savings “because that was where the money was,” according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Robertson defrauded coaches he knew from his time playing football for the Fork Union Military Academy and the University of Virginia.
He was convicted for the first time in August 2017 and was sentenced to forty years in prison. However, earlier this year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit vacated Robertson’s conviction and remanded the case to the district court. He was sentenced for a second time on January 3.
Merrill and Vaughn co-owned Cavalier Union Investments LLC and promised to invest in diversified holdings, but stole nearly $6 million of the more than $10 million they raised from investors, whom they convinced to buy Cavalier’s promissory notes that allegedly paid a fixed rate of return between 10% and 20% annually.
Living the high life
They spent the stolen money on personal expenses such as cars, family vacations, repayment of mortgage and credit-card debt, luxury goods, clothing, entertainment, educational expenses for family members, and a luxury suite at a football stadium.
At the time of the alleged fraud, Robertson was not registered as a broker, and Vaughn never was registered with the SEC. Robertson was previously employed with Merrill Lynch in 2008 and 2009.
“I want to say that I am truly, truly, truly, truly sorry,” Robertson said at his sentencing. “These people loved me, they cared about me and they trusted me, and I’m sorry.”
Prosecutors said that Robertson “collected money from, among others, his brother-in-law, his childhood Sunday School teacher, his high school basketball coach, and the man who recruited him to play linebacker at the University of Virginia. The Court also heard numerous witnesses testify that the defendant preyed on people’s religious faith, often quoting scriptures or praying with investors to lead them to believe that their money was in honest hands,” the Times-Dispatch added.