Rumeal James Robinson (born November 13, 1966) is a Jamaican-American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player and convicted felon. Growing up in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

, Robinson graduated from

Cambridge Rindge and Latin School The Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, also known as "CRLS" or "Rindge", is a public high school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. It is a part of the Cambridge Public School District. In 1977, two separate schools, Rindge Technical Sc ...

and went on to play

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

for the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. After a strong showing in Michigan's 1989 NCAA championship, Robinson was drafted #10 in the first round of the

1990 NBA draft The 1990–91 NBA season, 1990 NBA draft took place on June 27, 1990, in New York City, New York. One of the standouts of this draft is Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Basketball Hall of Famer Gary Payton. He became a nine-time All-Sta ...

. He played professionally until 2002, then started a criminal career that ended with him being sentenced to prison in 2011 on multiple convictions for bank bribery and

wire fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical (e.g., the U.S. Postal Service) or electronic (e.g., a phone, a telegram, a fax, or the Internet) mail system to defraud another, and are U.S. fede ...

Early life

Robinson was born in

Mandeville, Jamaica Mandeville () is the capital and largest town in the Manchester Parish, parish of Manchester in the county of Middlesex, Jamaica. In 2005, the town had an estimated population of 50,000, and including the immediate suburbs within a radius of t ...

, in the west-central portion of the island. His mother moved to the

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

area while he was a toddler, leaving him in his grandparents' care. Shortly after he turned 10 years old, his grandparents sent him to the United States in hopes of reuniting him with his mother. However, his mother made it clear that she didn't want him, and he was reduced to sleeping in apartment halls and

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

dorm stairways. Early in the 1977–78 school year, he was taken in by Helen and Lou Ford, a respected local couple. They adopted him in 1978. He blossomed into a star guard at

, leading them to a state championship in 1986.

College

Robinson averaged 14.3 points and 5.7 assists during his collegiate career at the

. He achieved fame during his junior year for sinking two crucial

free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the restricted area. Free throws ...

s with 3 seconds left in the

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as March Madness, or The Big Dance, is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion of the Division I level ...

to win the game for the Wolverines over

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

.Ex-Michigan star Rumeal Robinson gets 6 years for fraud - ESPN
/ref> His mother persuaded the city of Cambridge to name her street "Rumeal Robinson Way" in his honor.

NBA career

Robinson was drafted in 1990 by the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

with the 10th pick. He was signed to a four-year deal with the Hawks. He also played for the

New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

and

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

. Robinson also spent time in the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

. He played in the

Euroleague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

during the 2001–02 season for

KK Zadar Košarkaški klub Zadar (), commonly referred to as KK Zadar or simply Zadar, is a men's professional basketball Sports club, club based in Zadar, Croatia. The club is a founding member and shareholder of the ABA League JTD, Adriatic Basketball A ...

. In the NBA, Robinson's play was very inconsistent. His last season as a regular player was 1992–93, his first year in New Jersey; after that year, he never played in more than 54 games a season. He was one of three Robinsons that the

had in their line-up for the

1995–96 NBA season The 1995–96 NBA season was the 50th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA), though the 50th anniversary was not celebrated until the following season. The Chicago Bulls defeated the Seattle SuperSonics 4 games to 2 in the NBA Fina ...

. The others were Clifford Robinson and James Robinson (both no relation). Robinson made some $5 million in the NBA, but spent it on a lavish lifestyle. He went through money so irresponsibly, he neglected to pay his bills. He was forced into bankruptcy in 1998.

Post-playing career, criminal activity and conviction

After his playing career was over, Robinson moved to Miami and attempted to become a

property developer Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw Real Estate, land and the sale of developed land or parce ...

in his native

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

. He planned to build a 25,000 acre resort in his hometown called Harmony Cove. As part of his bid to attract investors, he persuaded his adoptive mother to take out a second mortgage on her house and lend it to Robinson as seed money. He promised to cover all the payments, and promised to give her $500,000 once the project was finished. However, his high living in the 1990s had all but destroyed his credit, and he was unable to find a bank willing to lend him any money. Through a friend, he was referred to Community State Bank in

Ankeny, Iowa Ankeny (, ) is a city in Polk County, Iowa, United States and a suburb of the state capital of Des Moines, Iowa, Des Moines, as part of the Des Moines metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Ankeny ...

. The bank's senior loan officer, Brian Williams, approved a $377,000

bridge loan A bridge loan is a type of short-term loan, typically taken out for a period of 2 weeks to 3 years pending the arrangement of larger or longer-term financing. It is usually called a bridging loan in the United Kingdom, also known as a "caveat loan ...

to Robinson's company, Megaladon Development—ostensibly to help with advertising and business plans. Robinson paid $100,000 of the loan back to Williams as a bribe to move the approval process forward. Over the next year and a half, Robinson received $1.2 million in loans from Community State Bank, all approved by Williams. However, he never paid the bank back a single penny, and barely five percent of the money went toward developing Harmony Cove. The rest of it was used to buy expensive clothes, meals, motorcycles, jewelry, and other accoutrements of the high life. The fraud was uncovered when Williams tried to hide the bad loans by rolling the interest and penalties into the principal for a new loan. One of Williams' subordinates was alarmed enough to alert bank officials. Community State Bank fired Williams and sued Megaladon for nonpayment. In August 2006, Community State Bank won $535,000 in damages. During the proceedings, it emerged that Robinson hadn't paid taxes since his playing days. During depositions to ascertain his net worth, Robinson admitted he owned nothing of value, and lived on roughly $20 at a time. His only possession was a second pair of pants. On August 24, 2009, a federal grand jury in Des Moines indicted Robinson, his girlfriend Stephanie Hodge, and Williams for

bank fraud Bank fraud is the use of potentially illegal means to obtain money, assets, or other property owned or held by a financial institution, or to obtain money from depositors by fraudulently posing as a bank or other financial institution. In many ins ...

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...

to commit bank fraud, bank bribery,

and

making false statements Making false statements () is the common name for the United States federal process crime laid out in Section 1001 of Title 18 of the United States Code, which generally prohibits knowingly and willfully making false or fraudulent statements, or ...

to a financial institution. Robinson surrendered to authorities on September 4. Soon after the arrest, his adoptive mother Helen Ford came forward and accused Robinson of swindling her out of her home. Unbeknownst to Ford, Robinson had arranged to sell Ford's house to one of his business partners, Miami foreclosure specialist Rick Preston, for $250,000. Preston later sold the house to another business partner, Jorge Rodriguez, for $600,000. In turn, Rodriguez sold it to Stephen Hodge, the brother of Robinson's girlfriend at the time, for $1 million. The money was supposedly intended to help build Harmony Cove, but was wasted on lavish spending and paying down debts. While Robinson initially tried to stay current on the mortgage payment, it went unserviced for so long that a bank foreclosed on her house in 2007. In 2009, Ford was forced to move out of her home. By this time, Robinson had lost possession of his expensive condo in Aventura, and was living in a squalid, budget motel in

North Miami Beach North Miami Beach (commonly referred to as NMB) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The City of North Miami Beach is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. Originally named "Fulford-by-the-Sea" in 1926, after ...

. Ford eventually got her home back in 2013. On September 8, 2010, Robinson was convicted of 11 counts of bank bribery, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. On January 7, 2011, federal judge Ronald E. Longstaff sentenced Robinson to 6 years (78 months) in prison.Rumeal Robinson to lose part of pension fund in bank fraud case - ESPN
/ref> He was also ordered to pay $1,184,615 in restitution to Community State Bank and St. Paul Mercury Insurance. Robinson appealed his sentence in September 2011, claiming judge Longstaff had denied him a chance to change lawyers and had improperly taken his

allocution An allocution, or allocutus, is a formal statement made to a court by the defendant who has been found guilty before being sentenced. It is part of the criminal procedure in some jurisdictions using common law. Concept An allocution allows t ...

statement into account at sentencing. A panel of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the arguments and upheld the sentence in December.Federal appeal
/ref> In March, 2012, a federal judge ruled that US$369,000 of Robinson's pension fund could be seized to help cover restitution owed to cover his fraudulent business deals. Robinson served his sentence at federal prisons in South Carolina, Louisiana and Florida. He was released on September 19, 2016, on five years' supervised release.

References

External links

NBA Player file
888

@ basketball-reference.com

@ basketballreference.com
University of Michigan Basketball Statistical Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Rumeal 1966 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American businesspeople ABA League players All-American college men's basketball players American adoptees American confidence tricksters American expatriate basketball people in Croatia American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Venezuela American men's basketball players American people convicted of fraud Atlanta Hawks draft picks Atlanta Hawks players Cambridge Rindge and Latin School alumni Charlotte Hornets players Connecticut Pride players Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna players Grand Rapids Hoops players Jamaican emigrants to the United States KK Zadar players La Crosse Bobcats players Los Angeles Lakers players Marinos B.B.C. players McDonald's High School All-Americans Basketball players at the 1995 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in basketball Michigan Wolverines men's basketball players New Jersey Nets players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Sportspeople from Mandeville, Jamaica Phoenix Suns players Point guards Portland Trail Blazers players Rapid City Thrillers players Shreveport Crawdads players Shreveport Storm players Sportspeople from Cambridge, Massachusetts Basketball players from Middlesex County, Massachusetts American people convicted of making false statements 21st-century prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government United States men's national basketball team players