Woman Arrested For Swindling Millions From Ricky Williams, Other Athletes

A woman accused of swindling millions of dollars from Ricky Williams and other athletes was arrested Friday in New Orleans.

According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Peggy Ann Fulford has been charged with wire fraud, mail fraud, interstate transportation of stolen property and money laundering. Fulford allegedly lied to former NFL star Williams and other athletes about her education and experience as a financial advisor. After winning their trust, she used her access to their funds to launder their money through multiple bank accounts and spend it on herself.

Fulford reportedly claimed that she was a Harvard-educated money manager who had made millions on Wall Street. She is neither, but Williams and others fell for it and gave her access to their bank accounts.

She did not request any payment from the athletes, saying that she “just wanted to protect them” from losing their money. But instead of investing their cash and paying their taxes, as she said she would, she diverted funds to other accounts and spent it on cars, jewelry and travel for herself.

The indictment only names Williams as a victim, with three other professional athletes who also lost money to Fulford left unnamed, per the Times-Picayune. Former NBA player Dennis Rodman is thought to be one of them, however, based on reports last year that he fired his business manager “Peggy King” for lying about her Harvard degree and losing millions of dollars of his money. “Peggy King” is a documented alias of Fulford’s, according to the indictment.

[ New Orleans Times-Picayune]