Ex-NBA Player Pleads Guilty in Charity-Donations-for-Client-Referral Scheme

Wednesday, December 6, 2017 | 1

Former National Basketball Association big man Kermit Washington pleaded guilty to charges related to a scheme through which he funneled professional athletes to a Southern California workers’ compensation attorney in exchange for donations to his charity, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri announced.

Kermit Washington
(YouTube image)

Washington on Thursday pleaded guilty to two counts of making a false statement in tax returns and one count of aggravated identify theft, prosecutors announced.

The former power forward for teams including the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors and San Diego Clippers referred professional athletes to attorney Ron Mix, who would represent them in workers’ compensation claims in California. In exchange for the referrals, Mix agreed to make donations to Washington’s charity, the Sixth Man Foundation, which operated under the name Project Contact Africa.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Washington received approximately $150,000 in donations from Mix, which he diverted for personal use. He admitted that he failed to account for this income in tax filings.

Mix pleaded guilty in May 2016 to filing a false tax return. He admitted to claiming the referral fees he paid to Washington as charitable contributions on tax returns from 2010 to 2013.