Former NFL pro and current con artist Sean Jones irritates me. I wrote about Jones in my upcoming book, Money Players, talking about his shady work as a sports agent. Apparently his bad work wasn't yet finished.
Yesterday, Jones was indicted on bank fraud charges. It is alleged that he and four others "ran a scheme to pocket portions of more than $42 million in mortgage loan." Prosecutors contend that the men "defrauded three Houston banks by acquiring mortgage loans far in excess of the properties' value and then diverting the money for personal use."
Let's rewind: When Jones retired he became a sports agent. Chris Dishman, a former Jones’ teammate on the Oilers, became one of his clients. Dishman allowed Jones to manage his investments in addition to negotiating his playing contract. Dishman alleged that Jones engaged in unauthorized trading and in “churning” his account. The National Association of Securities Dealers awarded Dishman awarded $550,000 in damages. Dishman didn’t collect any money from the judgment. Said Dishman, "It got too expensive to keep trying to track [Jones] down. I didn’t have the money to keep fighting it. I didn’t win anything.” Of course, the Joneses, as namesakes go, have always been hard to keep up with.
In 2003 Jones was de-certified as an agent by the NFL Players Association related to his financial dealings with Dallas Cowboy Ebenezer Ekuban, a Jones client. Jones persuaded Ekuban to guarantee a $1-million real estate loan that ultimately defaulted; and to lend Jones $300,000, some of which was never repaid.
With his career options dwindling, Jones called the one (perhaps only) person willing to overlook all his flaws. So Al Davis hired Jones to work for the Raiders in 2004. On the team's website, Jones described himself this way: "I work in the Personnel department of the Raiders. Given my financial background, my experience as an agent, and having been in the broadcast booth, I bring a unique perspective to the team. I assess players to determine their weaknesses and also look at how they might be able to help us in the future." In what may be his best post-NFL career outcome, Jones was fired in 2007 without any criminal charges or allegations.
I remember Jones from his playing days as a bright, articulate young man. What a waste of a promising life.
Posted by: Dan | June 16, 2007 at 02:03 PM
While the man is doubtless a scumbag, how is his life any more or less wasted than that of some "bright, articulate" former football player now broadcasting meaningless football games? Or owning meaningless Arena League teams? None of this is meaningful; hence, none of this constitutes "not wasting" a life.
Posted by: Paul | June 18, 2007 at 04:07 AM
I dont understand how the guy get so many chances....He is a criminal
Posted by: Jp | June 20, 2007 at 01:23 AM
He's like Art Schlicter...he had every advantage in life because of his athletic ability, but something was just off. Hopefully Sean Jones never gets hired again in any financial capacity.
Posted by: Sal | June 20, 2007 at 12:37 PM
I can't believe it! There must be some misunerstanding. This is NOT the guy I remember.
Posted by: | June 24, 2007 at 11:42 AM
There are a lot of facts left to come out in this. Given the number of indivduals involved it's safe to say that there is a whole other side to this as to who is actually culpable.
Posted by: | June 25, 2007 at 01:15 PM
Sure, Jones deserves the presumption of innocence with respect to the most recent charges. The outcomes in previous cases involving former NFL players Dishman and Ekuban have been determined.
Posted by: Marc Isenberg | June 25, 2007 at 02:55 PM
Can we have all the facts first before this guy is guilty! We just had the biggest scam of all time and it was 50 billion dollars. Come on now and 4 other individuals are included, all I can say is he better have a hell of a reason to be cleared or maybe it's a shame. Talent gone bad and crime is a last resort!
Posted by: Northeastern University Alumni | March 09, 2009 at 08:32 AM