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Bank of America’s wealth advisory unit Merrill Lynch has agreed to pay $9.5 million to settle a fraud suit brought by a former NFL player.
Reshad Jones accused a former adviser at the unit of embezzling $2.59 million and using the money for personal expenses, ESPN reports.
Court documents and arrest reports show that Isaiah Williams, in a position of trust at Merrill Lynch, transferred $1.56 million from Jones’s accounts across 133 unauthorized transactions,
An additional $1.03 million was allegedly taken through a laundering scheme in coordination with another party, Octavia Monique Graham, involving bank transfers and Cash App transactions.
Williams is accused of spending the stolen funds on jewelry, cars, hotels, airline tickets, strip clubs, shopping sprees, and luxury travel.
He faces criminal charges including first-degree organized fraud and first-degree grand theft, each of which carries a possible sentence of up to 30 years behind bars.
Williams was booked into jail in June and is currently free on a $1 million bond awaiting trial.
In his claim, Jones originally sought $16 million in damages via arbitration, citing breach of fiduciary duty and negligent oversight by Merrill Lynch.
The settlement in August resolves the dispute without going through a full trial.
