Woman who scammed star athletes out of millions sentenced

HOUSTON – A woman has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for scamming star athletes out of millions of dollars by claiming to be an Ivy League university-trained financial adviser and money manager.

A federal judge in Houston on Wednesday also ordered Peggy Ann Fulford to pay almost $5.8 million in restitution to her victims. She received the maximum penalty after pleading guilty in February to transporting stolen property across state lines.

Evidence showed that Fulford counted the NBA’s Dennis Rodman and NFL running back Ricky Williams among her victims.

Fulford told her victims that she was a graduate of the Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School. She never requested a fee but had access to her victims’ bank accounts.