Sacramento Kings CRO Jeff David siphoned off $13.4 million from NBA club

Sacramento Kings' former Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) Jeff David is currently serving time in federal prison. The reason? Over the course of a decade as the CRO of the Sacramento Kings, Jeff David siphoned more than $13.4 million from the NBA team, according to a report. He used to funnel funds from the Sacramento Kings diverted TO 'Sacramento Sports Partners LLC', a company Jeff David founded in 2009.

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Sacramento Kings CRO's multi-million dollar scam

Jeff David then used these funds to buy and remodel beachfront properties in Southern California also used it to pay for a private jet membership and pay off credit card bills. His siphoning scheme came to the fore when David chose to take up the role of CRO for Miami Heat in 2018. During the move from the Sacramento Kings to Miami Heat, the report says that Jeff Davis received a call from his former co-worker who worked in the Human Resources (HR) department as the Senior Vice President (SVP). Sacramento Kings' SVP of HR came across an old file of David's labeled "TurboTax" that referenced the company he founded, Sacramento Sports Partners. She then asked David whether these files were important and if that's the case, should the files go to somebody else. However, what seemed like an innocuous inquiry turned out to unravel Jeff David's scheme. 

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When Jeff David returned as CRO of the Sacramento Kings in 2011, after a brief stint with the NBA league office, the Kings gave David an autonomy with his affairs — one that he would exploit soon after his return. His first siphoning came to light when Van Wagner, a New York-based sports marketing firm, approached the Sacramento Kings to broker a courtside signage for Peak Sport, a sportswear company. David answered the call, and reportedly settled the deal. When the time came to bill Van Wagner, David asked the company to make three payments totaling about a reported $30,000, to Sacramento Sports Partners (SSP). 

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This was the first step in David's multi-million dollar siphoning. Jeff David reportedly received a salary of $30,000 a month and also received a yearly bonus. However, over the course of a decade as CRO of the Sacramento Kings, Jeff David had siphoned over $13 million from the Kings, reveal FBI investigations. 

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