Deliberations in the federal fraud case against Georgia football coach Jim Donnan will spill over into a third day after the jurors’ request to be dismissed was granted by Judge C. Ashley Royal late Thursday afternoon.
The jury of seven women and five men were handed the federal fraud case Wednesday afternoon and, excluding breaks and lunches, have now have deliberated Donnan’s fate for a total of nine hours in U.S. District Court in Athens.
“It has been my experience that cases like this, where you many, many counts, it can take a long time to arrive at a verdict,” Royal told the jury at about 4:15 p.m. Thursday. “That’s understandable. You’ve worked hard. Get some rest and be back here tomorrow at 9 a.m.”
The jury has been instructed to determine whether Donnan is guilty or not guilty on 41 criminal counts of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. The charges are related to an alleged scheme in which investors in a West Virginia-based company called GLC Limited lost almost $23 million.
Donnan, 69, could face a lengthy prison sentence if convicted. His co-defendant, Gregory Crabtree of Proctorville, Ohio, pleaded guilty to one conspiracy count and is facing a maximum of five years in prison when he is sentenced next month in Athens. Donnan’s wife, Mary, his son, Todd, and his daughter, Tammy Donnan Johnson, stayed with him for the entire 7 1/2 hours court was in session Thursday. Donnan seemed relatively relaxed, occasionally engaging reporters and lawyers in conversations about sports during the jury’s deliberations.
The jury sent Judge Royal one question Thursday. Before the session was called to order, they asked for access to the “evidence box,” which he and the respective attorneys determined to mean they wanted to see the exhibits that had been referenced often during the previous seven days of testimony.
Donnan coached the Georgia football team from 1996-2000 before being fired at the end of the 2000 season. After than he worked for several years as a college football analyst for ESPN. He came to Athens from Huntington, W.Va., where he was head football coach at Marshall University. It was in Huntington in 2006 that Donnan was introduced to Crabtree by Dan Shoemaker, an ESPN executive.
Donnan invested $80,000 in Crabtree’s company, also known as Global Liquidation Center, and made a substantial profit in 2007. Shortly thereafter, Donnan began recruiting investors for GLC, promising large rates of return on investments that were said to be used to purchase closeout merchandise for re-sale to pre-determined buyers.
Among the 94 investors prosecutors say Donnan recruited for GLC were six current or former football coaches (Frank Beamer, Dick Bestwick, Dennis Franchione, Mike Gottfried, Barry Switzer and Tommy Tuberville), two college basketball coaches (Billy Gillispie and Mark Gottfried) and two of UGA football players who played for Donnan (Kendrell Bell and Jonas Jennings). Donnan also brought in several of his friends from Athens Country Club and wealthy individuals he came to know as Georgia’s football coach.
Prosecutors contend that relatively little merchandise was sold by GLC and that early investors were paid from the contributions of later investors, an illegal activity known as a Ponzi scheme. Investors lost nearly $23 million when the operation collapsed in December of 2010.
But several other investors, including Chattanooga millionaire Nelson Bowers, testified that they believe Donnan did not know what he was doing was illegal and still consider him a friend.
Donnan coached Georgia’s football team from 1996-2000. He was fired at the end of the 2000 season after compiling a 40-19 record. Including five seasons at Marshall University, then a I-AA program, Donnan’s record as a head coach was 104-40.
