Former Atlanta Hawks power forward Ron Behagen was sentenced Thursday to three years probation and ordered to pay restitution after he pleaded guilty to stealing money from a seriously ill 68-year-old woman.
Behagen, 60, received the ATM card from the Sandy Springs woman's caretaker, Valla Rider, according to the Fulton County District Attorney's Office. He made 40 withdrawals totaling $7,140 from the victim's bank account from April to June 2011, prosecutors said. The transactions were captured on bank surveillance cameras.
Rider pleaded guilty to financial transaction card fraud in August 2011. The victim has Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease as well as dementia, according to the district attorney.
Behagen, a first-round draft pick out of the University of Minnesota, played for eight teams over a seven-year NBA career. He was a reserve forward for the Hawks during the 1977-78 season.
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