DEVELOPING: Donnan Found Not Guilty On 41 Counts

((HT: AJC/Tucker))

Jim Donnan was found not guilty on 41 counts of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and securities fraud in his case in and around Greg Crabtree's GLC Holdings. GLC sold out-dated and closed-out merchandise out of a West Virginia warehouse and promised investors a big return. But GLC eventually would pay early investors with later investor dollars.

Thus, the prosecution's thoughts that GLC was a Ponzi scheme and that Donnan was at the heart of it. A lot of high-profile coaches, athletes, and boosters were brought into GLC by Donnan's relationships with them through collegiate athletics like Frank Beamer and Billy Gillispie.

Donnan's attorneys said that Crabtree was the one in charge of the whole thing as the business lost over $20-million overall.

Here's part of the Joyce Oscar story that compared Donnan to a sports-version of Bernie Madoff from 2011
((HT: Southern Free Press))


From Tucker:

Jury foreman Artis Ricks said, “Mr. Donnan was as big a victim in this as some of the investors.”
Ricks said the government did not prove its case against Donnan.
“I just never saw that smoking gun that proved his guilt,” he said
On the way out of the courthouse Donnan told reporters, “I feel vindicated, and I hope I can get my life back.”

Crabtree pled guilty to one count of "conspiracy to commit fraud in the sale of a security."
He could get five years in prison when he is sentenced in Athens on June 24th...