Wealth adviser used $5M swindled from NBA stars to pay his lover, build backyard gym: prosecutors

Source: New York Post

A former Morgan Stanley financial adviser was convicted of federal fraud charges for cheating three NBA stars out of $5 million — using some of the money to built a state-of-the-art gym in his backyard. Darryl Cohen, 52, duped three current and past pro hoopsters — Jrue Holiday, Chandler Parsons and Courtney Lee — into buying specialized life insurance policies at astronomical markups as high as 310% so he could split the proceeds with an accountant pal, federal prosecutors in Manhattan said Wednesday. According to the feds, Cohen not only plunked down $238,000 to a nonprofit to build him the backyard gym, but also used the money for work on his swimming pool and gave $200,000 to his lover.