A former University of Oklahoma football player has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a scheme that defrauded investors of $869,300 announced U.S. Attorney Trent Shores. Timothy Hamilton, 31, of Dallas, Texas, pleaded guilty Sept. 14, 2018.
Today, U.S. District Judge John E. Dowdell sentenced Hamilton to the maximum allowable penalty of 60 months in prison to immediately be followed by three years of supervised release.
The court also ordered a criminal forfeiture money judgement in the sum of $869,300, representing proceeds obtained through the conspiracy. All monies will go to provide restitution to the victims.
“T.J. Hamilton’s extravagant and indulgent lifestyle was fraudulently built on the financial savings of those who believed in him. Hamilton persuaded investors to part with their money by exploiting his status as a former University of Oklahoma football player, using his church connections, making a false claim that he was a chemical engineer, and through the bogus endorsements of his products supposedly from former University of Oklahoma athletes,” said U.S. Attorney Trent Shores. “Hamilton repeatedly lied to 18 investors in order to bilk them out of almost $900,000. He compounded his crime by lying under oath in civil suits brought by those same investors in order to conceal his crimes. His scheme had a severe impact on victims, most notably a widow who lost her life savings. In court today, T.J. Hamilton faced those he cheated. He now has to deal with the consequences of his criminal actions.”
Victims told the court at length how Hamilton’s fraud harmed their professional and personal reputations. They further expressed that they trusted Hamilton and wanted to support his vision. Instead he cheated them. The financial impact of his fraud was devastating.
In handing down the sentence, Judge Dowdell noted that Hamilton had many opportunities in the course of his business ventures to inform investors of initial business failures, but he continued to accumulate investors, systematically draining members of his church and others of an exorbitant amount of money. The judge further noted that Hamilton’s charm, innate intelligence and ability to lie without remorse allowed him to steal almost $900,000 from victims in order to live lavishly.
At his plea hearing, Hamilton, who goes by T.J. Hamilton, admitted to promoting false investment opportunities relating to business ventures that were purportedly going to produce and market sportswear and nutritional supplements. At the time of his crime, Hamilton was a resident of Oklahoma.
As part of the scheme, Hamilton established and claimed to be the President and CEO of multiple companies. The Clean Athlete, LLC, established in 2011, promoted sportswear that could supposedly control the sweat and odor that comes with athletic play. Two other companies, Clean Athlete Nutrition, LLC, and Complete Athlete Nutrition, LLC, both established in 2012, claimed to create supplements that would improve athletes’ metabolism. His parents, Gena and Timothy Hamilton, were managing members of the companies. They both pleaded guilty on Sept. 14, 2018, for providing false income information in order to receive a car loan from a bank.
Upon receipt of investor funds, the Hamiltons used a majority of the money for personal gain, primarily for T.J. Hamilton’s country music career ambitions and his extravagant lifestyle.
The Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service—Criminal Investigation Division investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin C. Leitch, Richard M. Cella, Charles M. McLoughlin and Catherine J. Depew prosecuted the case.
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