NBA Legend Dennis Rodman to NFL Veteran Ricky Williams: How Famous Athletes Lost Over $8.2 Million to Notorious Scam Artist

When Dennis Rodman entered the league, he quickly became part of a significant force that is still talked about today. The NBA legend was a member of the ‘Bad Boys’ roster of the Detroit Pistons, known for their infamous rivalry with the Chicago Bulls. Several years later, the 5x NBA champion went on to create history with the Bulls themselves.

Having been such a renowned athlete, and considering the caliber that made him famous, one would expect the Hall of Famer to be living a lavish lifestyle similar to that of his ex-teammate and billionaire Michael Jordan. However, the ‘Rebound King’ has no more than $500,000 to his name, and one of the reasons for his relatively low net worth is the trust Rodman had unfortunately put in a con artist. The notorious Peggy Ann Fulford has duped several other veteran athletes including Ricky Williams and Rashad McCants.

Who is Peggy Ann Fulford?

Popularly known as ‘mama’ to her clients, Peggy Ann Fulford was born in 1958 in New Orleans and graduated from Spelman College in Atlanta. She claimed to be a Harvard graduate and the founder of ‘King Management Group’. Fulford also stated that she entered sports management for ‘selfless reasons’ and considered her client athletes to be her ‘family’.

As per Sports Illustrated, the ‘financial advisor’ gradually gained recognition and contacts and would first offer to work without pay to grab potential clients’ attention. She would then gain their trust and the next thing they’d know would be an emptied bank account with no sign of Fulford. Let’s look at some of the big names who fell prey to Peggy Fulford.

Dennis Rodman

Dennis Rodman met Peggy Fulford during the mid-2000s after having retired from the NBA. According to Sports Illustrated, Rodman and Fulford quickly became almost like family for each other. Fulford even accompanied the Bulls legend at his Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2011. Their close bond was noted by Rodman in his speech, “Peggy King, Elkin King?these guys, the family?they’re taking care of me these days. Thank you, Peggy.”

A first red flag for Rodman was when the electricity at his Florida home was abruptly cut off. It was a condo that Rodman’s supposed financial advisor had helped him find. He noticed several other signs eventually, but his concerns were largely dismissed by Fulford. She claimed that Rodman’s reckless spending was to be blamed for the decrement in his bank-balance. In fact, Fulford used it as an excuse to take away his debit card and began controlling his bank accounts.

Fulford’s misdeeds eventually came to light when Rodman was summoned to court for failing to pay four months of child support to his first wife Annie Bakes. When his card bill showed a significant amount of expenditure at Victoria’s Secret, Rodman knew something was amiss. Rodman didn’t realize the full extent of Fulford’s betrayal until her schemes were exposed publicly. Fulford had cleared an estimated $1.2 million from his account, as per CNBC.

Rashad McCants

Former Minnesota Timberwolves star Rashad McCants signed Fulford as his financial advisor during his rookie year in the league. Having been drafted by the Wolves in 2005, McCants had just received his first-ever paycheck of $1.54 million. However, his world turned upside down when he found his bank account completely wiped out. A quick run to the doughnut store before team practice turned into a nightmare for McCants!

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The basketballer was positive that although he had spent several times on a Range Rover and apparel, there was no way he could have emptied his entire account. McCants’ agent soon reported another $200,000 to be missing.

Ricky Williams

Ricky Williams is an NFL veteran and was introduced to Fulford through his interior decorator. Being her usual ‘professional’ self, Fulford quickly gained Williams’ and his then-girlfriend Kristin Barnes’ trust by helping them out in times of need.

Kristin called her ‘larger than life’ after Fulford drove her and her newborn baby home from the hospital. Fulford even organized a baby shower when Kristin got pregnant again. Fulford reportedly stole around $7 million from the former NFL running back. However, Williams later stated that he didn’t hate Fulford for what she had done to him.

Rex Hilliard

Fulford’s next victim was another NFL veteran, Rex Hilliard. The former Dolphins running back hired Fulford after Williams recommended her. As usual, Fulford gained Hilliard’s and his wife Rebekah’s trust by lending them $10,000 to kickstart a pawn shop. Hilliard had invested his savings into the business in the hope of willing it to the couple’s five children. Fulford accompanied them to their business meetings and helped them set up a joint account.

However, the Hilliards soon found themselves in a spot when the former Dolphin’s card was declined at the team hotel. They realized that they had several bills overdue and very less in the bank to cover them. After repeatedly failing to reach their ‘financial advisor’, Rebekah called Kristin, and Fulford’s fraud was finally exposed.

Peggy Fulford is convicted

In 2018, the United States Attorney’s Office released a statement regarding Peggy Fulford. It was informed to the public that Fulford was charged with defrauding Rodman, Williams and several other athletes including former NBA star Travis Best. She was eventually sentenced to 10 years in prison with three years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay a restitution of $5,794,870 to her victims.

Fulford is currently in custody until further notice. She will eventually be transferred to the US Bureau of Prisons.

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