It hasn’t been a good year for the San Diego Chargers. Their best defensive player, Shawne Merriman, is out for the year. They’ve struggled on offense. Yet their only one game out of first place.
For one former Charger it’s also been a very bad year. Benjamin Lee Coleman, an offensive lineman, played for the Chargers in 2000; his pro football career ran from 1993 to 2001.
Between 2005 and 2007 Mr. Coleman decided to borrow some money. There’s nothing wrong with that, but there’s a lot wrong when you obtain those loans using false information and other individuals’ social security numbers. It’s called fraud. And when you don’t pay taxes on the money you borrow (and then used for personal expenses) it’s called tax evasion.
Mr. Coleman pleaded guilty in December 2007. Last week he was sentenced to three years at ClubFed and must make restitution of $240,502.