Fake football star cheated investor, jury finds
James Fowler, who lied about playing in the Super Bowl and other claims, is found guilty of fraud.
Pedro Ruz GutieRrez, Sentinel Staff Writer
September 23
A former Orange County man who cheated an investor out of $1.3 million by falsely listing NFL stars as directors on his sports-marketing firm was convicted Thursday on seven counts of fraud and wire fraud.
A jury in Orlando's federal court took 11/2 hours to decide James Mikel Lee Fowler fleeced Randy Carlstrom, an Everett, Wash., businessman, by promising returns on his investments from 1996 to 2001.
Fowler, looking frail and in a wheelchair because of a bout with diabetes, falsely claimed to have played with the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XII and the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers in the 1970s.
Fowler, whom authorities think is in his 50s, used the Dream Sports Foundation LLC and his fabricated ties to other NFL players to solicit prospective investors such as Carlstrom.
Among the famed National Football League veterans who testified against Fowler were Hall of Fame running backs Tony Dorsett and Leroy Kelly. Dorsett, the 1976 Heisman Trophy winner, played for the Cowboys, and Kelly was Jim Brown's successor with the Cleveland Browns in the 1960s.
Other NFL standouts who took the stand this week were former Browns back Greg Pruitt, who finished his career with the Los Angeles Raiders in 1984, and ex-Minnesota Vikings linebacker Matt Blair.
The four said they met Fowler in the mid-1990s at celebrity golf tournaments in Orlando. Shortly after that, Fowler produced an infomercial with the players, promising that it would air on national TV. Like other ventures by Fowler, it faltered.
All testified that they never gave Fowler permission to list their names on his company or for other projects.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia Hawkins, in closing statements, said Dream Sports had "turned into a victim's nightmare."
Fowler faces at least five years in prison at his sentencing, which was set for Dec. 12.
Pedro Ruz Gutierrez can be reached at [email protected] or 407-420-5620.
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