Former Minnesota Vikings tight end Stu Voigt is headed to prison.
A federal court judge sentenced Voigt to six months in prison and ordered that he pay a $100,000 fine in connection to a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme he’s accused of running with his business partner, Jeffrey Gardner, WCCO reports.
Voigt was convicted by a federal jury on a single count of bank fraud in February. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says he and Gardner raised money from private investors for Gardner’s business, Hennesseey Financial, and promised investors returns of 10 to 20 percent annually.
Instead, they used the funds to repay previous investors and pay off Gardner’s debts from his other companies. Court records indicate Gardner and Voigt then began to set up new companies and new bank accounts to funnel money away from Hennessey.
According to the Star Tribune, prosecutors sought a much steeper sentence of 46 months in prison, but U.S. District Judge Patrick Schlitz granted leniency because Voigt could not have foreseen the bank wouldn’t secure its interest in the loan that went bad.
At the hearing, Voigt, 68, called it the “darkest day in my life.”
Following Voigt’s prison sentence, he’ll be on supervised release for two years. He is also prohibited from any involvement in banking or investing activities, the Star Tribune says.
While the sentence means Voigt will have to serve some prison time, it is no where near the sentence his business partner received.
Jeffrey Gardner, business partner of ex-Viking Stu Voigt sentenced to 90 mos federal prison in fraud case.
— Stephen Montemayor (@smontemayor) October 12, 2016
Voigt was a tight end with the Vikings during the 1970s he also spent 20 years as a broadcaster for the team.
