re: Donnan not guilty

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution


ATHENS — Former Georgia football coach Jim Donnan was found not guilty this afternoon on all 41 counts against him.

The U.S. District Court jury reached the verdict after about 12 hours of deliberation over three days.

Donnan was facing 41 counts of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and securities fraud, all related to what prosecutors had alleged was a fraudulent investment scheme.

On the way out of the courthouse, Donnan told reporters: “I feel vindicated, and I hope I can get my life back together.”

Prosecutors alleged in the case that Donnan and another man, Greg Crabtree, ran a fraudulent investment scheme from 2007 through 2010, promising investors high rates of return from a West Virginia-based business, GLC Limited, that sold closeout merchandise. But the company sold relatively little merchandise and instead repaid early investors with the contributions of later investors in a Ponzi scheme, prosecutors told the jury.

Defense attorneys argued that Donnan was duped by Crabtree and thought GLC was a legitimate business and a great investment opportunity that he wanted to share with family members and friends.

Jury foreman Artis Rick said he and the other 11 jurors did not believe the government proved its case and did not believe Donnan knew GLC was a fraudulent business.

“Mr. Donnan was as big a victim in this as some of the investors,” Ricks said. “I just never saw that smoking gun that proved guilt.

“I kept thinking every single day (during the trial) that the government was going to pull out a smoking gun. And there never was.”

Ricks said Donnan’s “overall character” made it difficult for him to believe the former coach would “do something to harm his family.”

Said Donnan, after the verdict: “I feel like when I did find out what was going on, all I did was try to rectify a tough situation for everybody. All of us who made money (from GLC investments) tried our best to pay it back.”

GLC, which stood for Global Liquidation Center, filed for bankruptcy protection in 2011, as did Donnan. Investors wound up losing almost $23 million, prosecutors said.

GLC was founded by Crabtree, who was indicted along with Donnan. Crabtree avoided trial by pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud in the sale of a security. He faces up to five years in prison when sentenced in Athens on June 24.

Ed Tolley, one of Donnan’s attorneys, said after the verdict that when he first started to practice law he was told not to get personally involved in cases. That wasn’t possible in this case, he said, because of his long relationship with Donnan.

“The verdict moved me, Tolley said. “I am so grateful.

“There is a fine line between people making a mistake and committing a crime,” Tolley said.