Ex-Hawks Finance Chief Sentenced to 41 Months for $3.7 Million Fraud
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A federal judge has sentenced former Atlanta Hawks executive Lester T. Jones Jr. to three years and five months in prison after he admitted to stealing nearly $3.7 million from the NBA franchise.
Jones, 46, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and received the 41-month term this week, federal prosecutors announced. He headed the team’s finance department as Senior Vice President of Finance until last year.
According to court documents, Jones joined the Hawks in 2016 and was promoted in 2021, a role that allowed him to approve expenses and oversee corporate credit cards. Between early 2021 and June 2025, he allegedly funneled team funds to himself by filing false reimbursement requests and making personal charges on company cards.
Investigators detailed a pattern of lavish spending that included luxury travel to the Bahamas and Thailand, almost $100,000 on clothing, a diamond ring worth more than $115,000, and significant outlays on watches and event tickets.
“Jones turned his position into an opportunity to steal the team’s funds,” U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said in a statement.
In addition to the prison term, the court ordered Jones to repay nearly $3.9 million and placed him on three years of supervised release once his sentence is complete.
Source: Hoops Wire
