Ex-NFL linebacker convicted of $8M Ponzi scheme should have league benefits garnished, feds say

A former NFL linebacker who ran an $8 million Ponzi scheme by promising investors big returns on gold mines and other real estate deals should have his benefits from the league garnished, according to the feds.

John Robert Leake of Marina Del Ray played for the Atlanta Falcons and briefly for the Green Bay Packers in 2005 and 2006, but by September 2024 had pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud and money laundering charges.

Leake, now 44, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for the scheme, in which he convinced friends and others to invest with him in exotic sounding ventures such as the purported mines in Africa and Alaska.

John Robert Leake played two years in the NFL. Getty Images

In reality he used the money to fund a gambling addiction, and racked up more than $5.3 million in losses the feds say he’s yet to pay back.

Now authorities are seeking to garnish any payments Leake may receive from the NFL Benefits Office to pay the debt, according to papers filed this week in a California federal court, which did not specify how much the league may be paying out to the former player.

A lawyer for Leake, who is serving his time in a federal prison in Maryland and was due to be released in October, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.