Former Viking Gets Prison Time In Ponzi Scheme
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Former Minnesota Vikings player and broadcaster Stu Voigt has been sentenced for his involvement in a Ponzi scheme that left some investors broke.
In February, a federal jury convicted Voigt on one count of bank fraud for his role in a scheme that, according to prosecutors, cost investors millions.
On Thursday, he was given a sentence of six months in prison and two years supervised release following his time in the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
The Star Tribune reported that U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz said Voigt "betrayed the public's trust" while serving as a bank board chairman and approving a loan to business associate Jeffrey Gardner, and not disclosing the millions of dollars Gardner already owed Voigt.
Gardner, whose business -- Hennessey Financial -- was accused of promising returns of 10 to 20 percent annually for private investors -- was sentenced to 90 months in prison on Wednesday. Court documents said Gardner knew Hennessey was failing but continued to lie to investors.
Voigt was a tight end for the Vikings in the 1970s, and for the next 20 years broadcast the Vikings games on radio, including on WCCO-AM.
Voigt is to report for his prison sentence on Nov. 28, the Monday following Thanksgiving.
He was also ordered to pay a $100,000 fine.