The life of a wealthy athlete isn’t always glamorous. In the same way that one’s superstardom attracts the adulation of people, it also attracts scammers with nefarious and greedy intentions. Former Houston Rockets star Chandler Parsons, a player with an estimated net worth of $60 million, fell victim to an intricate scam costing him $1 million. All along, he thought he was helping NBA player James Wiseman.
The story is an incredible and ruthless example of how shamelessly hard scammers will go to violate and exploit the trust of the most experienced and financially savvy athletes.
Calvin Darden Scammed Chandler Parsons Out Of $1M In Elaborate Scam
Calvin Darden Jr., a businessman from Georgia, was convicted in a New York court for being the brainchild of elaborate scams that gained athletes’ trust and then defrauded them. Chandler Parsons is one of Darden’s victims.
Darden’s schemes reportedly targeted elite athletes with big bank. In this particular scheme Darden, who prosecutors describe as a “master manipulator,” was in cahoots with a sports agent to swindle Parsons into transferring $1 million under the false pretense that it would support the future development of former No. 2 overall draft pick in 2020, James Wiseman, who has had some challenges on and off the court fulfilling his promise.
According to Larry Neumeister of The Associated Press, prosecutors stated, “Darden also teamed up with a sports agent to fool Parsons.”
Parsons was not the only victim of Darden’s wickedness.
Calvin Darden Jr. Exploited Trust Of Dwight Howard Just Like Chandler Parsons
During a September episode of his podcast “Above the Rim With DH12,” former NBA star and current “Dancing With The Stars” contestant Dwight Howard revealed that he was taken by his agent Chris Briscoe and Darden for “$7 million,” in a scheme in which they convinced him he was a part of an ownership team purchasing the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream.
“It was a part of the agent,” Howard revealed. “What was my mentality? My mental was I wanted to find him and beat the h*ll out of him. Like, I wanted to kill him. My plan that I had was, I was looking to buy the Atlanta Dream. The basketball team for women.”
Howard is worth an estimated $140 million. His two daughters were born in 2010 and had a goal to buy into the team and then have his daughters play for the franchise one day,
“So we put this little group together, and at the time, the NBA — because I was still playing — said that I couldn’t own the team outright myself,” he described. “I was like, ‘OK, I can have a group and be the face of the team for now, and then I could be behind the scenes making all the decisions and stuff like that.”
Dwight Howard Thought He Had Closed A Deal To Buy The Atlanta Dream
Howard says the scam was so elaborate that he even talked to the GM and owners of the team, but things went left shortly after.
“They took the money, and I hardly ever heard from them again. … He kept saying, ‘Man, they won’t call me back now. I can’t get in contact with them.’ I was like, ‘Man, you’re lying. What’s going on?’”
Darden reportedly spent $6.1 million of Howard’s dough to purchase luxury items, including a Lamborghini, a $110,000 piano, $90,000 in watches, a down payment on a $3.7 million home, and hundreds of thousands in fine art and home upgrades.
Brisco and Darden scammed Howard to perfection.
“I really trusted this agent,” Howard said. “But these agents, these lawyers, all these people — they are scheming, they be lying, and they all have the same motive: to take from you. So it’s like you really can’t trust anybody,” Howard said.
Dwight Howard’s Agent Charles Briscoe Arrested On Felony Fraud, Identity Theft Charges
In March 2023, as reported in a previous TSL story, “Howard’s former agent, Charles Briscoe, was arrested on felony charges, including wire fraud and identity theft. Briscoe and his co-conspirators allegedly used the $7 million for personal expenditures. In February Brisoe pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud conspiracy charges but avoided prison time.”
Darden was one of the co-conspirators in that scam. During trial Howard reportedly testified about how Darden convinced him that the funds were for an investment to purchase the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream. When news of the actual sale hit, Howard said: “I got a slap in the face.”
How Much Prison Time Will Calvin Darden Jr. Serve For Swindling Former NBA Players Dwight Howard and Chandler Parsons Out Of Millions?
Darden is dealing with extensive legal fallout from his illegal exploitations of these high-powered athletes.
According to reports, Darden previously faced legal troubles for impersonating his father in a failed venture. These new blemishes have positioned him for a potential sentence of 11 to 14 years in prison. With all of the evidence firmly against him, Darden chose to deny a plea deal and fight the chargers in court. He failed, but that doesn’t return the money that was stolen to Parsons or Howard.
