BBALL UK BACKER IN FRAUD RAP

By Mark Woods on July 16, 2017

One of the directors of the failed BBall UK consortium is facing five years in prison.

Rick Boomgaart, who was also formerly on the board of Basketball England, has pled guilty to what American officials claim was a scheme to defraud clients of State Street bank.

The Canadian, who was based in London, was prominent in the 2015 attempt to buy the British Basketball League outright with investment from a Wall Street bank which fell apart after MVP uncovered its secret links with then-Basketball England chief executive Huw Morgan â€“ a conflict of interest that forced Boomgaart, along with three others, to resign from their positions at BE.

The 44-year-old admitted to misconduct in the wake of a 2014 settlement that forced Boston-based State Street to pay a Â£22.9 million fine.

He is still listed as a director of BBall UK who are thought to be still looking at options to buy into sport despite the BBLâ€™s successful campaign to fend off their approach, a move that saw Basketball England stripped of some of its responsibilities and come under fire from Sport England for its governance.

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