Ex-NBA star charged with embezzlement

Prosecutors have filed charges against former NBA forward Kermit Washington, accusing him of embezzling about a half-million dollars in charitable donations meant to help the needy in Africa and spending it on jewellery, vacations and other things.

Washington, who was best known for his bone-shattering punch to the face of Houston Rockets player Rudy Tomjan-ovich during a 1977 game, was charged in an indictment filed in Kansas City on Monday. He was arrested in Los Angeles on Tuesday and the indictment was unsealed Wednesday.

Washington, who was released on $75,000 bond, is charged with interfering with internal revenue laws, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, obstruction of justice and aggravated identity theft. The charges largely stem from transactions that occurred from about 2004 through 2013, according to the indictment.

“The federal indictment alleges this former NBA player used his celebrity status to exploit the good intentions of those who donated to a charity he founded, called Project Contact Africa,” said Tammy Dickinson, US attorney for the western district of Missouri.

She declined to say how much of the money actually went to the charity, but she characterized it as a “very small fraction.”

Online court records don’t list a lawyer for Washington.