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Former Lakers Forward Kermit Washington Indicted In Alleged Charity Fraud Scheme

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Former NBA star and Los Angeles Lakers forward Kermit Washington was arrested on an indictment alleging he masterminded a charity fraud scheme, federal authorities announced Wednesday.

The indictment, returned in Monday by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Missouri, alleges that Washington used a charity he founded and operated, Project Contact Africa, to defraud donors, eBay, PayPal and the Internal Revenue Service, according to U.S. Attorney Tammy Dickinson of the Western District of Missouri.

Washington, 64, was arrested Tuesday in Los Angeles and charged with corruptly interfering with the internal revenue laws, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, obstruction of justice and aggravated identity theft, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Kermit Washington Action Portrait
(Photo credit: NBA Photo Library/NBAE via Getty Images)

Prosecutors say Washington falsely represented that 100 percent of donations to Project Contact Africa would go to Africa "[i]n order to induce individuals, including former professional athletes, to make donations" to the organization.

According to the indictment, Washington also allegedly referred former professional athletes to former San Diego Chargers star-turned-attorney Ron Mix, whose practice focused on the filing of workers' compensation claims on behalf of ex-athletes.

"In exchange for the referrals, Mix made payments to PCA and claimed those amounts as charitable deductions on his personal tax returns," according to a DOJ statement.

Washington who played for the Los Angeles Lakers from 1973-78 and the then-San Diego Clippers from 1978-79, made his initial
appearance at the downtown federal courthouse, where was ordered to surrender his passport.

He was released on bond and ordered to wear a location monitoring device. His next court date is scheduled for June 16.

(©2016 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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