A Windermere man who was former Orlando Magic player Gilbert J. Arenas' personal assistant has been sentenced to federal prison for stealing more than $2 million from the retired NBA player.
John A. White, 40, was sentenced to four years and nine months in federal prison.
In September, a federal jury found White guilty of wire fraud and filing a false tax-related document.
The United States Attorney’s Office said that from 2008 through 2011, White stole about $2,188,170 from Arenas by making unauthorized online banking money transfers from one of Arenas’ bank accounts into three different bank accounts that White controlled.
Prosecutors say that White spent the money on his own personal expenses, including mortgage payments for his home in Windermere and the purchase of a Ferrari and a Range Rover. He was Arenas' personal assistant for about six years.
White also filed false joint income tax returns with the IRS for each of these years. In these tax returns, he and his wife never reported more than $60,000 in gross income, when their joint income was actually significantly greater because of the money White had stolen from Arenas, federal prosecutors said.
White’s false tax returns caused a tax loss of about $621,144 to the IRS, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
In December 2010, Arenas was traded from the Washington Wizards to the Orlando Magic but only stayed with the team for a year. He was waived by the Magic on Dec. 9, 2011.