Federal Jury Convicts Windermere Man Of Stealing Over $2 Million From A Former NBA Basketball Player

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that a federal jury today found John A. White (40, Windermere) guilty of 11 counts of wire fraud and 4 counts of filing a false tax-related document. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for each wire fraud count and up to 3 years’ imprisonment for each false document charge. White’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for November 19, 2015. He was indicted on April 9, 2015.

According to the evidence presented at trial, from 2006 through 2012, White was employed as the personal assistant to NBA basketball player Gilbert J. Arenas, who has since retired from professional basketball. During calendar years 2008 through 2011, White stole approximately $2,188,170 from Arenas by making unauthorized online banking money transfers from one of Arenas’s bank accounts into three different bank accounts that White controlled. White spent these funds on his own personal expenses, including mortgage payments for his home in Windermere, and the purchase of a Ferrari and a Range Rover. White also filed false joint income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service for each of these years. In these tax returns, he and his wife never reported more than $60,000 in gross income, when in fact their joint income was significantly greater due to the money White stole from Arenas.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, with assistance from the United States Secret Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew C. Searle.