The person who conspired to ruin Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner with allegations of sexual assault admitted in a federal case that he made it all up in an attempt to extort Pastner and the institute.
Ronald Bell, a former colleague of Pastner’s, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit extortion, according to a Wednesday news release from the U.S. Department of Justice. After a personal falling out with Pastner in 2017, Bell sought the termination and disgrace of the Yellow Jackets coach first by claiming he committed NCAA infractions and then with allegations that Pastner sexually assaulted Bell’s girlfriend. He also demanded bribe money from the institute in exchange for not reporting the claimed assault. When Tech did not comply, Bell and his girlfriend, Jennifer Pendley, filed a lawsuit with the allegations of sexual assault.
“The defendant tried to extort Georgia Tech and egregiously tarnish the reputation of the university’s coach with a false claim of sexual assault,” U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said in a statement. “By his guilty plea he acknowledged the lie and his criminal conduct, and will now face the consequences for his crime.”
In the case, investigated by the FBI, Bell pleaded guilty to conspiring with Pendley and a security guard at McCamish Pavilion to accuse Pastner of sexual assault. According to the news release, Bell admitted recruiting the security guard to claim falsely that he had witnessed the assault, telling him that the accusation could be worth $20 million and promising the guard a share of the money.
“Bell sought to severely damage the reputation of the institution and their coach solely for his own financial gain,” Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta, said in a statement. “The FBI will not tolerate false allegations and will do everything in our power to seek the truth and hold individuals who commit these type of crimes accountable for their selfish actions.”
Pendley also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit extortion Feb. 22.
Two years ago, Bell was found guilty in an Arizona magistrate court of working to defame Pastner with the sexual-assault allegation. He was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to make restitution to Pastner in the amount of $719,002 for Pastner’s legal fees.
In a statement at a sentencing for that case, Pastner addressed the impact that Bell’s actions had had on him. At a game at Louisville, fans had yelled “Rapist!” at him on the Tech bench. He told the judge how he had to explain the allegations to his three pre-teen daughters.
“This isn’t just something of a trespassing (allegation),” Pastner said. “The worst crime somebody can commit to somebody – this is what they accused me of. And he knew what he was doing, through greed, through extortion. It was with total malicious intent.”
That case was thought possibly to be the end of the legal proceedings regarding Bell’s torment of Pastner, but the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Georgia indicted Bell and Pendley on charges of conspiracy to extort Tech in October 2022.
“These defendants sought to damage the reputations of the institution and coach for their own financial gain,” Farley said in a statement at the time of the indictment. “The FBI will not stop in bringing people who try and commit this type of fraud to justice.”
Sentencing for Bell, 56, is scheduled for June 8.
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