Jail for Man Who Promised Ravens, Didn't Deliver
The man who collected $14,000 to deliver pro players to county school assemblies now gets eight years in prison.
An Annapolis man was sentenced to eight years in prison for charging Maryland schools and PTAs to bring Baltimore Ravens football players to their assemblies and then not delivering, ABC 2 News reports.
Prosecutors said Joseph Gill, 53, took nearly $14,000 from 17 schools in Anne Arundel County in 2011.
According to reports, Gill promised Ravens players would attend the schools' anti-bullying assemblies. After he cashed the checks, however, Gill said that the players couldn’t make it after all.
Severna Park Middle School paid $1,950 to Odyssey Group LLC of Annapolis to have Ravens cornerback Lardarius Webb speak at its anti-bullying assemblies. Arundel Middle paid $600 and hoped to bring Webb to their school as well. Arundel High also paid $750 for an unnamed player.
"That fact that Mr. Gill is now being held accountable for his actions can be a valuable lesson for our students. Unfortunately, that is not likely to undo the lessons about disappointment he forced them to learn by depriving them of positive experiences they had eagerly anticipated," said Bob Mosier, a spokesman for Anne Arundel County Public Schools. "It is also not likely to make the schools and parent groups—which lost money to Mr. Gill’s scheme—financially whole."
According to court records, Gill admitted to running similar scams at four schools in Baltimore County, collecting $1,200 there; and he took $4,600 from five schools and PTA groups in Howard County last year.
Here's the list of Anne Arundel County Public Schools that Gill took money from:
Elementary schools: Crofton Meadows, Mayo, Rippling Woods, Central, Riviera Beach, Severn, Fort Smallwood, Richard Henry Lee and Phoenix Annapolis
Middle schools: Severna Park, Arundel, George Fox, Central, Crofton and Lindale
High school: Arundel High School
Thjodie Hess
3:48 pm on Friday, September 21, 2012
Nope this is not the first time he did this. I worked for him and his son a few years ago. They did the same thing...except they did have former football and baseball players did go to the school. However the players, and employees did not get paid. They drove around in expensive cars, lived in expensive rentals all paid for by the "company". A few schools did miss out on the assembly as well. I will never forget that experience, its nice he's finally going to prison. Good luck..Joe. I don't think they will make your coffee right in prison!
Maryellen Brady
3:43 pm on Saturday, September 22, 2012
I sure hope he will eligible for parole after 18 months. It costs us $50,000.00 a year to imprison this guy and $13,000 con job is bad but the sentence is excessive. After all, Wall STREET thugs stole billions and they aren't in jail, Gov Rick Scott (R) of FL, committed the greates fraud in Medicare history, his company paid a $24 mn fine, admitting no guilt,
while he collected his golden parachute on the way out the door.
Mike
6:16 pm on Sunday, September 23, 2012
Excellent point, Ellen. Also, I would add, as a taxpayer I'm more then a bit disgusted that the schools are paying money out to celebrities for such purposes. If they school system can't deal with bullying without paying celebrities for appearances then it's pretty incompetent. Come to think of it...
Cory Smith
11:23 am on Sunday, October 28, 2012
Gilll has been scamming people and businesses for YEARS.
This Eye on Annapolis story has a link to a federal court judgment ordering Gill to pay over $1,000,000 in restitution. Gill even scammed several local Annapolis businesses.
http://www.eyeonannapolis.net/2011/10/28/update-scammer-has-long-history-of-fraud/