By Christopher Michael, WLS-AM 890 News
(CHICAGO) — 37 year old David Staral bought the Chicago Rush Arena Football team in 2013. At the time, he said he was going to rebuild the team that was failing. He said he would do it even if he had to dig into his own pocket to do so. He did not.
And now, he is on his way to jail after being found guilty of fraud. When he bought the Rush, he lied to the Arena Football League claiming that he was a successful investor, even though he was deep in debts that included fines for another scam. Lying was a habit with him, as he lied on his bankruptcy paperwork.
Staral only owned the team for three months, and in that time he did not pay his players, he did not pay his vendors, and then he gave up the team to the AFL which had to get the team through the season. The team cost the AFL more than a million dollars.
U-S District Judge Ronald Guzman said Staral presented a unique case, noting that he had never seen anyone in 20 years on the bench who had committed fraud in so many ways. Staral was ordered to pay $139,000 to his victims, and will serve 3 1/2 years in a Federal prison. He has asked to serve his time in the federal facility in Oxford, Wisconsin, and to report to prison in August.
Chicago Sun-Times Wire
Copyright 2017 WLS-AM News
