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ASSOCIATED PRESS
INDIANAPOLIS -- A judge ordered former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Art Schlichter to pay more than $500,000 in restitution to 22 victims of a ticket-selling scam linked to his gambling addiction, but prosecutors said it is unlikely they ever will see the money.
Marion County Superior Judge Tanya Walton Pratt on Friday accepted a plea agreement between the 44-year-old Schlichter and prosecutors. The deal, under which Schlichter last month pleaded guilty to corrupt business influence and being a habitual offender, also includes an eight-year prison sentence.
However, because Pratt ordered the time to be served concurrently with a five-year federal penalty that Schlichter already is serving and because Indiana gives inmates one day of jail credit for each day served with good behavior, he is unlikely to serve any additional time in prison.
Schlichter pleaded guilty in January 2001 to federal charges of money laundering, forging securities and unauthorized use of credit cards to pay gambling debts.
He was indicted following an Internal Revenue Service investigation into a scheme in which he sold tickets to sporting events and promised he could resell the tickets for a profit. The events included Indiana Pacers and Indianapolis Colts games, as well as the NCAA Final Four basketball tournament.
Records show Schlichter has been convicted 10 times since 1995 of crimes including forgery, fraud and theft, The Indianapolis Star reported. Schlichter has said he plans to get treatment for his gambling problem when he is released from prison.
"I think the difference now is that Art has been in prison for a long, long time," his attorney, Jack Crawford, said. "People have a tendency to bottom out and Art's gambling addiction has caused him to 'bottom out,' and he knows there is no way to go but up."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
INDIANAPOLIS -- A judge ordered former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Art Schlichter to pay more than $500,000 in restitution to 22 victims of a ticket-selling scam linked to his gambling addiction, but prosecutors said it is unlikely they ever will see the money.
Marion County Superior Judge Tanya Walton Pratt on Friday accepted a plea agreement between the 44-year-old Schlichter and prosecutors. The deal, under which Schlichter last month pleaded guilty to corrupt business influence and being a habitual offender, also includes an eight-year prison sentence.
However, because Pratt ordered the time to be served concurrently with a five-year federal penalty that Schlichter already is serving and because Indiana gives inmates one day of jail credit for each day served with good behavior, he is unlikely to serve any additional time in prison.
Schlichter pleaded guilty in January 2001 to federal charges of money laundering, forging securities and unauthorized use of credit cards to pay gambling debts.
He was indicted following an Internal Revenue Service investigation into a scheme in which he sold tickets to sporting events and promised he could resell the tickets for a profit. The events included Indiana Pacers and Indianapolis Colts games, as well as the NCAA Final Four basketball tournament.
Records show Schlichter has been convicted 10 times since 1995 of crimes including forgery, fraud and theft, The Indianapolis Star reported. Schlichter has said he plans to get treatment for his gambling problem when he is released from prison.
"I think the difference now is that Art has been in prison for a long, long time," his attorney, Jack Crawford, said. "People have a tendency to bottom out and Art's gambling addiction has caused him to 'bottom out,' and he knows there is no way to go but up."
