Many Illinois residents are familiar with the career of Robert Meachem, a former NFL player. Meachem made headlines off the field when he was arrested and jailed for unpaid alimony and child support. That experience led to the discovery that Meachem was cheated out of nearly $1.7 million by a woman he paid to handle his finances.
Last year, Meachem was jailed for unpaid alimony and child support of approximately $400,000. When asked to explain why he failed to make those payments, Meachem stated that he pays very little attention to his personal finances. He had hired financial advisors to handle those matters.
That led investigators to look into Meachem’s accounts. They discovered that a woman he hired as a financial advisor has defrauded the player of nearly $2 million. Some of those funds were spent on the woman’s personal expenses, and additional money was diverted to her firm through questionable real estate purchases.
The woman now stands charged with eight counts of bank fraud, one count of mail fraud, two counts of wire fraud and five counts of aggravated identity theft. If convicted, she could spend decades in prison. There’s no word on whether Meachem is expected to receive restitution for any of his lost wealth.
As this case demonstrates, individuals are responsible for making their court-ordered alimony and child support payments. If those payments fall behind, the end result could be fines or even time behind bars in Illinois. It’s important to stay on top of payments and to check behind any financial professionals hired to manage those transactions.
Source: theadvocate.com, “How was Robert Meachem scammed out of $1.7 million? Unsealed indictment against adviser explains“, Ramon Antonio Vargas, May 2, 2018
