A Texas woman who claimed to be independently wealthy and who managed the finances of ex-NFL running back Ricky Williams and three other professional athletes has been charged with swindling millions from her clients, officials say.
According to the Times-Picayune, Peggy Ann Fulford, 58, was arrested Friday in New Orleans, where she currently lives, and charged with "wire fraud, mail fraud, interstate transportation of stolen property and money laundering."
An eight-count indictment, which was handed down by a grand jury Tuesday and unsealed Friday following her arrest, alleges that Fulford told Williams and the other unidentified alleged victims that she'd graduated from Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School and was a financial adviser and money manager.
According to the indictment, Fulford claimed that she'd made millions on Wall Street and would manage the former pros' money and income taxes for free because she was already "independently wealthy and just wanted to protect them from losing their money," the Times-Picayune reports.
Williams and the other alleged victims, who have not been identified, had millions of dollars taken from their accounts, while Fulford spent their funds on luxury cars, real estate, jewelry and airline tickets, authorities charge.
Fulford—who, according to authorities, uses several aliases, including Peggy King, Peggy Williams, Peggy Simpson, Peggy Rivers, Peggy Barard, Devon Cole and Devon Barard—faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted of either mail or wire fraud. She also faces a minimum of 10 years if convicted of money laundering and the interstate transportation of stolen property charge, according to the newspaper.
Court records show that Williams and his wife are seeking damages from Fulford that will amount to between $2 million and $4 million.
Read more at the Times-Picayune.