ATHENS — Jim Donnan's fate is in the hands of the jury.
The former Georgia football coach’s lawyers rested their case without calling additional witnesses Wednesday morning, and both sides then presented their closing arguments in Donnan’s trial on fraud charges in federal court. The jury began deliberations in early afternoon and called it a day about 3 1/2 hours later. Deliberations will resume at 9 a.m. Thursday.
The jury is to decide whether Donnan is guilty or not guilty on each of 41 counts of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering, all related to an alleged scheme in which investors in a West Virginia-based company called GLC Limited lost almost $23 million.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Pete Peterman, in the government’s closing argument, said the case is about a Ponzi scheme that collapsed when Donnan “ran out of people to get money from.”
“It is very obvious Jim Donnan is not the victim he wants you to believe,” Peterman said. “His defense is a house of cards, as was the investment scheme.”
Jerry Froelich, one of Donnan’s attorneys, stressed in his closing argument that many “captains of industry” chose to invest in GLC. He maintained that if sophisticated business people thought GLC was a sound business, it’s understandable that “a football coach” would think the same.
Donnan “had a good name,” Froelich told the jury. “Give him back his good name.”
GLC (Global Liquidation Center) investors recruited by Donnan testified that they were promised large rates of return — typically 30 to 70 percent — for investments that were to have been used to purchase closeout merchandise for re-sale to pre-determined buyers. But prosecutors contend that relatively little merchandise was actually sold by GLC and that early investors were paid from the contributions of later investors.
“As is typical of a Ponzi scheme, it looked good for a while, but it was going to collapse,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul McCommon told the jury. “And it collapsed.”
GLC filed for bankruptcy protection in 2011, as did Donnan.
The central issue in the case is how much Donnan, who became involved with GLC in 2007, knew about the company’s operations and when he knew it.
GLC was founded by Greg Crabtree, a West Virginia man who originally was indicted along with Donnan. Crabtree decided not to go to trial, agreeing to a negotiated guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud in the sale of a security. He faces up to five years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced next month in Athens.
Donnan’s lawyers, Froelich and Ed Tolley, said the former coach believed Crabtree was running a legal business.
“Whether Crabtree was running this as a legitimate business and lost control of it, or whether Crabtree was just a crook from the beginning, maybe it doesn’t matter,” Tolley told the jury. “Because for those on the outside, like Jim Donnan and (others), it looked completely legitimate.”
Countered McCommon: “He calls Greg Crabtree a crook. Maybe so. But there’s no evidence Greg Crabtree was a crook before he got tangled up with Mr. Donnan.”
McCommon added later: “Mr. Crabtree and Mr. Donnan were partners at the start of this. They were partners as they executed this scheme. And they deserve to be partners at the end.”
Tolley said Donnan “probably had one of the greatest football minds that ever came through Athens, Ga.,” but he said the ex-coach didn’t have a mind for business.
“It is not a crime to be not very smart,” Tolley said.
Donnan could face a lengthy prison sentence if convicted.
“We trust in you,” Tolley told the jury, “and Jim Donnan’s family trusts you.”
About the Author
