As one might expect, former Ohio State quarterback/gambling fiend Art Schlichter was charged with a first-degree felony connected to over $1 million in theft to fund a ticket scam.
According to the Columbus Dispatch, Schlichter was charged yesterday morning and turned himself in to the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office shortly thereafter.
Schlichter, who had been in jail 44 times already for fraud and forgery crimes related to his gambling addiction, spent the last two years soliciting over $1 million to fund a ticket sales scam that instead further fueled his addiction. The “investment opportunity” revolved around buying in demand tickets for events like the Super Bowl and selling them at an enormous profit.
His most affected victim was 68-year-old Anita Barney, the widow of former Wendy’s CEO and chairman Robert Barney. According to Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien, yesterday’s charge involved Schlichter’s connection and solicitation of funds from Barney.
If found guilty, Schlichter could face 10 years in jail and $20,000 in fines minimum. No additional charges have been made against Schlichter, but O’Brien says the investigation is ongoing and more charges could be added later.
Whew! We do feel sorry for his family and close friends who lost so much. If indeed this is a gambling addiction, then the stints in jail apparently did not work to “dry him out” so this one will not work either? Can anything be done to get him free from this addiction to gambling? We have seen and assisted in heroine addictions which are quite difficult to kick, but never have experienced an addiction as severe as this one appears with gambling. This truly is a terrible situation.
1. i feel bad for the elederly lady who lost so much money
2. schlichter is one sick guy
3. knowing how much money schlischter has stolen and swindled from others, how is it schlichter has not been found in a ditch or floating down a river?
lemmam: We agree. It is sad to think that way, but we have wondered #3 as well. We heard that he stole so much from his family (and friends as well) that it put them into bankruptcy. With a repeat offender, isn’t there a penalty which would keep him in jail for a much longer period of time? If they don’t have a 3 strike law like California, don’t they have something like it…a repeating offender law?
Been in jail FORTY-FOUR (44) times already? Sorry, but I have no sympathy for anyone who ‘invests’ with someone of this kind of background. What could you possibly be thinking when you hand over your own money to someone with such a known gambling ADDICTION, that also has been so repeatedly jailed for crimes mostly tied to the gambling addiction?
I hope he gets the full 10 years, if not more. Time to quit babying this repeat offender, regardless of how many TD passes he threw or however many yards he ran for.
Like ‘southernpatriots’ said… doesn’t that state have a repeat offender law? This guy has no business being free on the street.
I believe he is “Art Slickter”