Hey Everybody!,
Dunno if anyone even remembers me... yes im still alive ... just been swamped with work and my dad had open heart sergeory to replace two arteries and two valves... anywho... Came across this story today about Fred Edelstien. I always used to watch this guy when he used to have his tv shows and his "picks" he used to give out week by week with his "INSIDE" info with eveyrone in the nfl... anywho... what a scam this guy had going.. thought it would be interesting....
NFL Newsletter Publisher Sentenced
Thu Jul 11, 8:12 PM ET
By JOANN LOVIGLIO, Associated Press Writer
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Fred Edelstein, the editor and publisher of a weekly newsletter covering the NFL, was sentenced Thursday to 21 months in federal prison.
Edelstein's scheme conned investors, including former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Bill Bergey, out of nearly $600,000.
The 50-year-old publisher of "Fred Edelstein's Pro Football Insider," pleaded guilty to defrauding eight people out of $589,000. He also was ordered to make full restitution, $120,000 of which must be paid within the five-year probation after his release.
"To know that ... I took money from friends, to know they trusted me and I let them down, the remorse is overwhelming," Edelstein told U.S. District Judge Jay C. Waldman. He apologized to his victims, some of whom were in court for the sentencing, and asked the judge for leniency, suggesting he could repay his victims more quickly if he was working and not behind bars.
The judge was unmoved.
"You have ignored your responsibility and ... now you think you should be spared the consequences of your actions so you can take responsibility? I don't find that point of view very persuasive," Waldman said.
Prosecutors said that between 1994 and 1999, Edelstein claimed he had a high-profit investment that involved such sports luminaries as Edward DeBartolo, former owner of the San Francisco 49ers; Carmen Policy, president of the Cleveland Browns; and sports agent Leigh Steinberg.
Prosecutors said the FBI ( news - web sites) interviewed all three, who admitted knowing Edelstein. They said they did not know he was using them to front his fictitious investment scheme. Prosecutors said Edelstein used the money to pay his own bills.
Bergey, an All-Pro linebacker for the Eagles, invested $97,500 and was repaid all but $5,250 ? but he said in court after the sentencing that it amounted to a "substantial" amount more.
Because Edelstein insisted on cash for some transactions, the difference cannot be substantiated, Bergey said. He declined to disclose the amount.
"We go back to the mid-'70s. I just never thought anything like this could happen," Bergey said. "The only thing I do know is that everyone has to be responsible for everything they say and everything they do."
Among Edelstein's other victims were sports agent Eugene Parker, who lost $100,000 in a nonexistent investment in refrigeration equipment, and onetime WTXF-TV sports anchor Joseph Krause, who lost $39,000 on an imaginary venture capital deal.
Edelstein also pleaded guilty to bank fraud for an unrelated "check-kiting" scheme. Edelstein admitted cashing and redepositing 66 checks totaling $394,500 in 2000 and 2001 among five banks to artificially inflate the balances of the accounts. Edelstein later repaid the banks for the overdrafts and the charge did not figure into Thursday's sentence.
He was ordered to turn himself in to authorities on Aug. 9.
Dunno if anyone even remembers me... yes im still alive ... just been swamped with work and my dad had open heart sergeory to replace two arteries and two valves... anywho... Came across this story today about Fred Edelstien. I always used to watch this guy when he used to have his tv shows and his "picks" he used to give out week by week with his "INSIDE" info with eveyrone in the nfl... anywho... what a scam this guy had going.. thought it would be interesting....
NFL Newsletter Publisher Sentenced
Thu Jul 11, 8:12 PM ET
By JOANN LOVIGLIO, Associated Press Writer
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Fred Edelstein, the editor and publisher of a weekly newsletter covering the NFL, was sentenced Thursday to 21 months in federal prison.
Edelstein's scheme conned investors, including former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Bill Bergey, out of nearly $600,000.
The 50-year-old publisher of "Fred Edelstein's Pro Football Insider," pleaded guilty to defrauding eight people out of $589,000. He also was ordered to make full restitution, $120,000 of which must be paid within the five-year probation after his release.
"To know that ... I took money from friends, to know they trusted me and I let them down, the remorse is overwhelming," Edelstein told U.S. District Judge Jay C. Waldman. He apologized to his victims, some of whom were in court for the sentencing, and asked the judge for leniency, suggesting he could repay his victims more quickly if he was working and not behind bars.
The judge was unmoved.
"You have ignored your responsibility and ... now you think you should be spared the consequences of your actions so you can take responsibility? I don't find that point of view very persuasive," Waldman said.
Prosecutors said that between 1994 and 1999, Edelstein claimed he had a high-profit investment that involved such sports luminaries as Edward DeBartolo, former owner of the San Francisco 49ers; Carmen Policy, president of the Cleveland Browns; and sports agent Leigh Steinberg.
Prosecutors said the FBI ( news - web sites) interviewed all three, who admitted knowing Edelstein. They said they did not know he was using them to front his fictitious investment scheme. Prosecutors said Edelstein used the money to pay his own bills.
Bergey, an All-Pro linebacker for the Eagles, invested $97,500 and was repaid all but $5,250 ? but he said in court after the sentencing that it amounted to a "substantial" amount more.
Because Edelstein insisted on cash for some transactions, the difference cannot be substantiated, Bergey said. He declined to disclose the amount.
"We go back to the mid-'70s. I just never thought anything like this could happen," Bergey said. "The only thing I do know is that everyone has to be responsible for everything they say and everything they do."
Among Edelstein's other victims were sports agent Eugene Parker, who lost $100,000 in a nonexistent investment in refrigeration equipment, and onetime WTXF-TV sports anchor Joseph Krause, who lost $39,000 on an imaginary venture capital deal.
Edelstein also pleaded guilty to bank fraud for an unrelated "check-kiting" scheme. Edelstein admitted cashing and redepositing 66 checks totaling $394,500 in 2000 and 2001 among five banks to artificially inflate the balances of the accounts. Edelstein later repaid the banks for the overdrafts and the charge did not figure into Thursday's sentence.
He was ordered to turn himself in to authorities on Aug. 9.
