New Jersey native Chris Gatling, 47, who played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, New Jersey Nets and Golden State Warriors in his 13-year career, was arrested by Scottsdale, Ariz. police for credit card fraud and identity theft on Thursday, NBC Sports reports.
One of Gatling's victims, a woman he met on a dating site, became the key to his arrest. The woman owned a fitness studio that fronted Gatling's operation. He told her that he ran an Internet business for fixing credit, and the woman was promised 10 percent of the profits. However, she alleged that Gatling schemed her out of $90,000 that lead to the closure of her legitimate business, reports TMZ.
The police said Gatling managed his illegal operations in Phoenix via a call center, which collected credit card numbers from different users. Gatling would bring these numbers to his lady partner, who would then ran $100 charges on it. She would give $90 to Gatling, while keeping $10 for herself, according to New York Daily News.
However, as the owners of the credit cards did not authorize any of the transactions, charges were cancelled, leaving the owner of the fitness studio with $90,000 collectibles, the total amount she had given to the ex-basketball pro.
Authorities have lodged charges of fraud, forgery and aggravated identity theft against Gatling, who already has a previous arrest record for theft and forgery back in 2012, according to the NBC report. He's also in the midst of a probation sentence, following his arrest for squatting on a property in Phoenix.
Additional charges in relation to his credit card scam case could be filed as police reviews more evidence. Gatling retired from the NBA in 2002.
