(Bloomberg) — A former investor in the National Football League’s Minnesota Vikings will plead guilty to fraud over an unlicensed banking operation for cryptocurrency traders, his lawyer told a federal judge.
Reginald Fowler will enter an “open plea,” meaning he will plead without having reached a sentencing agreement with prosecutors, attorney Edward Sapone told the court in a filing late Thursday in federal court in Manhattan. He will plead guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud and operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business.
“Every case must be evaluated individually,” Sapone said in an email. “There is a freedom attached to this anticipated open plea that will empower us to tell Reggie’s unique truth in a way that otherwise would be handcuffed by a traditional plea agreement.”
Fowler had rejected a deal with prosecutors that would have allowed him to plead guilty to a single count. Under that agreement, the government had required him to give up as much as $371 million held in more than 50 accounts.
Read More: Ex-Vikings Investor Rejects Plea Deal in Cryptocurrency Case
Prosecutors alleged in a February 2020 indictment that the Arizona businessman told banks he was opening accounts for real estate transactions, when he knew they would be used to move funds for cryptocurrency exchanges. The arrangement shunted hundreds of millions of dollars through the U.S. financial system and allowed the exchanges to avoid money-laundering safeguards that apply to licensed financial institutions, according to the government.
Fowler was also charged with defrauding people associated with a professional sports league by trying to buy a stake in the league using illegally obtained funds. Though prosecutors didn’t identify the league, the timing and details matched up with Fowler’s reported investment in the Alliance of American Football, an upstart rival to the NFL that shut down in April 2019 after only eight weeks of play.
Fowler tried to buy the Vikings for $600 million in 2005 but settled for minority ownership when he couldn’t come up with the cash. His involvement with the team ended in 2014.
The case is U.S. v. Fowler, 19-cr-254, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
Read More: Former NFL Investor Fowler Faces New Fraud Charge in Crypto Case
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