April 26, 2017

A High Point, North Carolina businessman, who provided financial services to professional athletes, was sentenced to 65 months in prison for wire fraud and filing a false 2011 tax return. According to the documents filed with the court, Michael Rowan, 46, operated Capital Management Wealth Advisors Inc. (CMG) and APS Management LLC (APS), along with his business partner. Through CMG and APS, Rowan provided financial and investment services to professional athletes, including National Football League (NFL) players. Rowan, through CMG and APS, contacted prospective NFL players in college to offer them financial and wealth management services, including bill payment, investment services and financial guidance. Once players were drafted by the NFL, Rowan agreed to provide his services to them for an annual fee of between $15,000 and $50,000. Rowan directed his clients to sign an agreement that allowed Rowan to access their bank accounts. Rowan represented that he would only make transactions that his clients authorized and that were for their benefit. However, Rowan misused his access and transferred more than $2.9 million into accounts he controlled for his own personal benefit and without his clients’ knowledge or consent. For 2009 through 2013, Rowan failed to report more than $1.4 million of the embezzled funds on his federal tax returns, causing a loss to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of more than $479,000. DOJ

Tagged in: Financial and Investment Fraud, Tax Fraud,