Donald Watkins Sentenced to Five Years after Investment Scam Conviction
(AP File Photo/Butch Dill)
Well-known Alabama lawyer Donald Watkins, who was convicted of swindling NBA star Charles Barkley and using the name of former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to bolster an investment scam has been sentenced to five years in prison.
U.S. District Judge Karon Bowdre also ordered Watkins to pay about $14 million in restitution during a hearing today in Birmingham.
Prosecutors had wanted a prison sentence of 17½ years for the 70-year-old Watkins and 6½ years for his son, Donald Watkins Jr. Both were convicted on fraud charges earlier this year.
Prosecutors say the two men stole more than $15 million from investors and a bank.
Witnesses including Barkley testified during trial about losing money in the scheme. Rice testified that Watkins wrongly used her name in promoting an energy business at the heart of the case.
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