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Press Release

Reggie Rucker charged for using charitable donations to pay gambling debts, personal expenses

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Ohio

Reggie Rucker was charged in federal court for allegedly using charitable donations to anti-violence groups he led to pay his gambling debts and personal expenses, including mortgage payments, meals, and entertainment, law enforcement officials said.

He was also charged with lying to the FBI during when questioned about his alleged diversion of charitable funds.

Rucker, 68, of Warrensville Heights and a former professional football player with the Cleveland Browns, was charged in a criminal information with one count of wire fraud and one count of making false statements to law enforcement.

“Reggie Rucker misused his celebrity and position in the community to dupe some of our most important local foundations and generous citizens,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Carole Rendon. “He stole from the very violence interrupters he so publically claimed to support. In one breath he begged generous donors to save Amer-I-Can and the Peacemakers Alliance, and in the next he stole that money to support his lifestyle and his gambling junkets in Cleveland, Florida, and Las Vegas, using the charity's account as his own ATM.”

“Mr. Rucker used his position of trust to help fund his gambling habits and personal expenses, and ultimately, he betrayed those that supported his work in the community,” said Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Cleveland Office. “The FBI will continue to work with our partners to identify and hold accountable those who chose to commit such fraud.”

Rucker served as executive director of Amer-I-Can Cleveland (Amer-I-Can), a nonprofit organization located in Shaker Heights. Rucker also served as president of the Cleveland Peacemakers Alliance (CPA), a collaboration of community organizations that employed outreach workers to resolve conflicts in Cleveland. Rucker solicited charitable contributions and deposited them into Amer-I-Can’s bank account, according to the information.

From 2011 through February 11, 2015, Rucker diverted funds intended to support Amer-I-Can and CPA for his personal use and in excess of any compensation he was entitled to receive. Rucker wrote checks to himself and made withdrawals from the Amer-I-Can bank account in amounts and frequencies unrelated to the work he performed, but rather dictated by his own personal financial needs, including to pay his mortgage, entertainment, meals, travel, groceries, and dry cleaning, according to the information.

In furtherance of his scheme, Rucker falsely told current and prospective donors that Amer-I-Can had an independent board of directors to provide oversight when it did not.  Rucker also filed documents under the penalties of perjury with the Internal Revenue Service that significantly understated the amount of money he took from the Amer-I-Can bank account.  He also falsely claimed to certain actual and prospective donors, “I do not have a salary with Amer-I-Can,” and “We don’t have any contracts that pay me…”, according to the information. 

Rucker withdrew approximately $48,000 at casino ATMs in Tampa, Las Vegas, and Cleveland, from the Amer-I-Can bank account from 2011 to 2015, including over $35,000 in 2014 alone.  He also paid multiple gambling debts he incurred at a Las Vegas casino totaling $65,000 using money donated to Amer-I-Can and CPA for charitable purposes, according to the information.  

In January 2013, when an employee of a Cleveland-area foundation (identified in the charges as Foundation 1) informed Rucker that “The Board (of Foundation 1) has awarded $150,000…for Peacemakers Alliance. Congrats!!!”, Rucker forwarded the email to a Las Vegas casino that he owed $20,000, stating “this is my non profit and they were a little behind getting me my money. I will not actually have this in my hands for 10 days, maybe 14 . . . I like to keep communication open so that I don’t get into any trouble. Can they work with me on this?”  On March 5, 2013, Amer-I-Can received $58,751.52 of Foundation 1’s charitable funds, and on March 12, 2013, Rucker wrote a check for $20,000, funded in part by Foundation 1’s donation to Amer-I-Can, to the Las Vegas Casino to pay his gambling debt, according to the information. 

In January 2014, after receiving $47,500 from a donor identified in the information as Foundation 2, Rucker wrote himself two checks totaling $40,000 from the Amer-I-Can bank account, and used a portion of this money to pay an outstanding gambling debt of $25,000 to a Las Vegas casino, according to the information.

In September 2014, Rucker incurred a $20,000 debt at a Las Vegas casino.  Between November 18 and December 1, 2014, Rucker wrote himself checks totaling approximately $21,200 from the Amer-I-Can bank account and paid the Las Vegas casino $15,000 of his debt.   In January 2015, after Amer-I-Can received $47,500 from Foundation 2, Rucker wrote himself a check for $10,000 and paid the remaining $5,000 he owed the Las Vegas casino, according to the information.

Rucker repeatedly solicited grants and donations from foundations, corporations and executives, but failed to disclose his diversion of charitable funds.  For example, on November 19, 2014, Amer-I-Can received $10,000 from an entity identified as Foundation 4. The next day, Rucker wrote himself a check for $10,000, but later submitted a report to Foundation 4 that stated: “We appreciated the bridge support granted to us by [Foundation 4], it was helpful in being able to assist high risk and gang affiliated youth. The continued support of [Foundation 4] will be instrumental…,” according to the information.

Rucker also repeatedly cited CPA outreach workers’ lack of pay to justify his requests for additional funds, but did not disclose his personal use of charitable funds. For example, Rucker solicited funds from Foundation 1, which provided approximately $2.45 million to CPA between 2011 and 2015, by claiming that CPA workers “believe they are being disrespected and taken advantage of . . . I can’t hold them together much longer. We have come too far, put too much into this . . . None of us has money!”, according to the information. 

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam Hollingsworth and Miranda Dugi following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after a review of the federal sentencing guidelines and factors unique to the case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record (if any), the defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation.

An information is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Updated February 16, 2016

Topic
Financial Fraud