John Rogers, the former photo archivist from North Little Rock, faces a felony wire fraud charge brought Friday by the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.
The indictment claims that in 2009 Rogers bought at auction an honorary Heisman Trophy that had been awarded in 1960 to a longtime master of ceremonies of the Heisman Trophy banquet held annually in New York City.
Rogers then participated in a scheme to fraudulently represent that he had in his possession a genuine Heisman Trophy won by an unnamed player, the Illinois U.S. attorney said.
Rogers took the ceremonial Heisman Trophy and placed a nameplate of a football player on it, the indictment said. The filing did not name the player, but the Chicago Tribune reported Monday that the player was Oklahoma's Billy Sims, the 1978 Heisman Trophy winner. The award is given each year to the nation's "most outstanding college football player."
The fraud with the Heisman Trophy was part of schemes to obtain at least $10 million from investors, financial institutions and customers, the U.S. attorney charged.
Rogers used his businesses, Sports Card Plus and Rogers Photo Archives, to raise money to fund purchases of newspaper photo archives throughout the country and collections of other photos. Rogers borrowed millions from banks and others, including friends, to help fund the purchases.
Rogers faces dozens of civil lawsuits originally seeking more than $70 million.
Last year, North Little Rock police arrested Rogers on felony counts of theft of property and commercial burglary in connection with a burglary at one of his former businesses.
Little Rock attorney Blake Hendrix, who has represented Rogers in criminal cases, did not return a phone call Monday seeking comment.
A representative from the U.S. attorney's office in northern Illinois declined to comment about the case.
On his Facebook page, Rogers wrote Monday that "nobody is to blame here but ME."
"The last thing I want is for anyone to speak or feel any ill will towards our federal government, FBI or law enforcement out of love for me," Rogers said. "The men and women who have handled my case have been nothing but professional and honorable and I am thankful for them because they saved my life from a downward spiral of cocaine addiction. Had they not stepped in, I would be dead now.
"I made hugely regretful, shameful mistakes, clouded in the daily haze of drug addiction, that I am ready to acknowledge and accept. I thank you all for your prayers, love and support."
Rogers confirmed in a phone interview Monday that he had written the Facebook post. He declined to comment further about the indictment.
Roger Rowe, an attorney representing First Arkansas Bank & Trust of Jacksonville, which has sued Rogers for more than $15 million, said he believes that Rogers is working on a plea agreement with the government.
Rowe, who is not a criminal lawyer, said he based his belief on the fact that the charges against Rogers were relatively limited, that only one U.S. attorney apparently is working on the case and that the case didn't go before a grand jury.
"I would not be surprised if sometime before his initial arraignment hearing, where John is supposed to appear and say guilty or not guilty, that there is a filing or an indication that a plea has been worked out," Rowe said.
Michael McAfee, receiver in many of the lawsuits filed against Rogers, estimated that Rogers could face 10 years in prison based on the sentencing guidelines for the financial amount of the charges and other mitigating factors.
"This is a matter between John and the federal government," McAfee said. "But regardless of the evidence, [Rogers] is still innocent until proven otherwise."
Business on 09/13/2016