A former senior finance executive for the Atlanta Hawks, Lester T. Jones Jr., has been charged by the U.S. Department of Justice for allegedly embezzling more than $3.8 million from the NBA franchise over the course of several years.
The charges, which include wire fraud, were filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia following a team-backed audit that uncovered the alleged scheme.
Jones, who served as the Hawks’ Senior Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis, is accused of abusing his position by falsifying invoices and manipulating company credit card records to siphon team funds. According to prosecutors, the stolen money was used to finance a lavish lifestyle that included luxury travel to destinations such as Europe and the Bahamas, high-end purchases, including jewelry and designer goods, and the acquisition of a Porsche, among other personal expenses
Jones allegedly authorized fraudulent vendor payments and submitted doctored expense reports to conceal the transactions. His access to financial systems and oversight of budgeting processes gave him the ability to bypass internal controls undetected for years.
The embezzlement was uncovered during a routine internal audit initiated by the Hawks, which flagged irregularities in Jones’s financial activity. The findings were escalated to federal authorities, leading to a formal indictment last week. Jones, 46, has pleaded not guilty to the charges and has been given 15 days by a federal judge to decide whether to proceed to trial or enter a plea agreement.
He is no longer employed by the Hawks, and both the team and Jones’s legal representatives have declined to comment publicly on the case.
If convicted, Jones could face significant prison time and financial penalties. Wire fraud carries a maximum sentence of 20 years per count, and the DOJ has indicated that further charges could be added pending the outcome of discovery.
