Atlanta Hawks finance exec gets 3 and a half years for $3.7M embezzlement scheme

A former Atlanta Hawks finance executive has been sentenced to more than three years in federal prison for embezzling approximately $3.7 million from the NBA franchise through fraudulent expense claims and misuse of corporate credit cards.

Lester T. Jones Jr., 46, of Atlanta, was sentenced to three years and five months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution of $3,898,486.99, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Jones pleaded guilty to wire fraud on Dec. 16, 2025.

Jones joined the Hawks’ accounting and finance department in 2016 and was promoted to senior vice president of finance in August 2021, becoming the team’s most senior accounting executive below the chief financial officer, prosecutors said.

His position gave him extensive control over the team’s finances. Beginning in early 2021, Jones became the sole administrator of the Hawks’ corporate American Express account, with full visibility into card numbers, account balances, cardholder identities and payment issues. He also administered the team’s electronic reimbursement platform and supervised employees handling expense reimbursements.

Prosecutors said Jones exploited that access from early 2021 through approximately June 2025, carrying out his scheme in two ways: submitting or directing dozens of fraudulent expense reimbursement requests for fictitious business expenses, and charging personal purchases to corporate credit cards while concealing the activity through false representations to subordinates.

Among the personal expenditures charged to the Hawks were roughly $80,000 in overseas travel to the Bahamas and Thailand, $99,800 in apparel at Saks Fifth Avenue, a $115,795.01 diamond ring, $21,888.90 in Omega watches, and more than $160,000 in tickets to concerts and other events.

U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said Jones “turned his dream job as a high-ranking executive for the Atlanta Hawks into an opportunity to steal the team’s funds,” adding that those who abuse their employers’ trust to embezzle substantial sums face federal prison.

Marlo Graham, special agent in charge of FBI Atlanta, said the case underscores the damage insider threats can cause and that such financial schemes “are not immune from detection.”

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bernita Malloy.