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Former Hawks executive Jones sentenced to over 3 years in prison for embezzling $3.7M from team

ATLANTA (AP) — Authorities announced Wednesday that former Atlanta Hawks finance executive Lester T. Jones Jr. was sentenced to three years and five months in prison for embezzling approximately $3.7 million from the team through fraudulent expense reimbursement requests and misuse of corporate credit cards.

Federal prosecutors said in a court filing in November that Jones, a former Hawks accounting executive, used the money to pay for travel, luxury apparel, jewelry, car expenses and tickets to concerts and sporting events.

Jones pleaded guilty to wire fraud in December.

Jones, 46, worked in the Hawks’ accounting and finance department from March 2016 through June 2025. In his role as senior vice president for finance, beginning in August 2021, he was responsible for the company’s corporate credit card account with American Express and administered the electronic expense reimbursement program.

“Jones turned his dream job as a high-ranking executive for the Atlanta Hawks into an opportunity to steal the team’s funds, purchasing luxury apparel, jewelry, watches, and trips for himself,” U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said in a statement released by the Department of Justice.

“But, for Jones and others who abuse their employers’ trust to embezzle substantial funds, the gravy train’s final destination is federal prison.”

The Hawks had no comment Wednesday on Jones’ sentencing.

Marlo Graham, an Atlanta-based special agent, said Jones’ case “underscores the significant damage that can be caused by insider threats within an organization.”

“Jones abused his authority and access to embezzle millions, but schemes like this are not immune from detection,” Graham said in a statement. “The FBI remains committed to investigating and disrupting financial crimes at every level.”

Prosecutors said Jones embezzled the money by submitting dozens of fraudulent expense reimbursement requests, leading the Hawks to reimburse him for fictitious business expenses. Also, prosecutors said Jones charged personal expenses to corporate credit cards.

Among the personal expenses: approximately $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 over $160,000 in tickets to concerts and other events.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Grandfather recovering from surgery after bison attack at Yellowstone sent him flying

By WTOP Staff
(CNN) — What started as a yearly trip for a grandfather and his grandson turned into a visit to a Montana hospital after a bison attack at Yellowstone National Park.Carl McDaniel, 65, was hospitalized with a broken femur after a bison charged and tossed him into the air Friday evening at the park’s Bridge Bay Campground, according to McDaniel and the National Park Service.He was visiting the park with his 13-year-old grandson when they decided to take a walk after dinner.Along the way, they encountered a large bison that appeared to be rolling around in the dust and was not bothering anyone, McDaniel told CNN.“We were about a hundred yards away,” McDaniel said. “He was not aggressive; he was not having problems and we took some pictures and decided to walk on.”McDaniel and his grandson snapped a quick photo and continued with their walk, video of the encounter shows. At the same time, a truck drove by, and the driver laid on his horn in what appeared to be an attempt to get the bison to move, McDaniel said. There is no audio on the video.The bison then appeared to become agitated and began running toward the pair.“There was little time to decide what to do. At that point, he was within 100 yards; he could be to us in seconds, so I told my grandson to run in one direction and I went the other to try and draw him away,” McDaniel said.The animal then pushed McDaniel with the top of its head, sending him flying into the air before he hit the ground, the grandfather said.“When I was on the ground immobile, unable to move, he was right on top of me. He could have stomped on me, he could have gored me, he could have done almost anything to take my life, and he did not do so,” McDaniel said.After McDaniel hit the ground, photographer Mike MacLeod, who captured the encounter on video, had to step in, he told Cowboy State Daily.“I was really afraid he was going to gore the guy on the ground, so I stopped videotaping and ran at the bison, yelled loud, and was trying to be as big and intimidating as possible,” MacLeod said.After the bison took off, people rushed over to McDaniel, who was in a lot of pain, MacLeod told Cowboy State Daily. Yellowstone EMS arrived soon after, he said.“Park emergency medical personnel responded and transported him to a nearby hospital,” the National Park Service said in confirming the incident in a statement to CNN.This is the second bison attack at Yellowstone this year. A 12-year-old was injured near Mud Volcano on June 26, according to the agency.After Friday’s attack, “all the people that were there were amazing; they were all positive, they were trying to help as best they could,” McDaniel said. A nurse started tending to his leg, while another bystander held his head.He was then transferred to a hospital in Bozeman, a two-hour journey during which he was in intense pain. He said he was grateful for the paramedic who helped him along the way.McDaniel broke his femur, the body’s strongest bone, in four places near his hip and suffered several bruises. He had surgery Sunday and could stand by Monday.“I will be doing physical therapy for the next few days to get to walk, but it was not as catastrophic as it could have been,” McDaniel said.The National Park Service advises visitors to stay at least 25 yards away from bison at all times and to never approach the animals. “If the bison follows you, spray bear spray as you are moving away, and seek cover behind nearby trees or cars,” the agency said.Correction: An earlier version of this story understated how far visitors should stay away from bison. The National Park Service advises visitors to stay at least 25 yards from them.The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
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