Just weeks after federal authorities accused Super Bowl LII champion Mychal Kendricks with insider trading stemming from a scheme where he allegedly bribed a (now former) Goldman Sachs analyst in exchange for nonpublic tips about some of the investment bank’s upcoming deals (the analyst, Damilare Sonoiki, was also charged in the scheme), the former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker has decided to throw in the towel.
Mychal Kendricks (AP)
Despite the fact that he’s still facing a sentence of up to 25 years in prison, Kendricks pleaded guilty on Thursday, according to the New York Post.
U.S. District Judge Gene E.K. Pratter asked Kendricks why he was pleading guilty.
“I’m making the decision because it’s the right thing to do,” he said, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. “I know that I made the decision to accept information, secret information, and it wasn’t the right thing to do.”
As we’ve previously noted, Kendricks, who signed with the Cleveland Browns this year after winning a Superbowl with the Philadelphia Eagles, used the insider tips to earn about $1.2 million in illegal profits on four trades. Kendricks paid Sonoiki $10,000 in cash and perks like Eagles tickets. The illegal activity allegedly took place between 2013 and 2015. Kendricks was let go from his contract with the Browns last month after news of the charges broke. Sonoiki, meanwhile, had left his junior analyst position at Goldman to take a job in TV writing.
Sonoiki’s lawyer told the Philadelphia Inquirer that his client would also plead guilty, but no date has been set. Kendricks will be sentenced on Dec. 18.
For all those would be white-collar criminals out there, let this be a lesson: Maybe just stick your money in SPY. Or if you’re feeling saucy, maybe give a game of darts a try.
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