El Paso mayor candidate's brother indicted in NBA multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme

Aaron Martinez, El Paso Times
Updated ·2 min read
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The estranged brother of an El Paso mayoral candidate was indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly running a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme by falsely claiming to be an NBA promoter.

Timothy France Johnson, 61, was indicted March 20 on seven counts of wire fraud and three counts of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity, federal court records show.

A federal security guard enter the Albert Armendariz Sr U.S. Federal Court House in El Paso, Texas on Feb. 8, 2023.
A federal security guard enter the Albert Armendariz Sr U.S. Federal Court House in El Paso, Texas on Feb. 8, 2023.

Johnson is the brother of El Paso mayoral candidate Renard Johnson, who has not been implicated in playing any role in the alleged crime.

"Like the rest of the public, I learned recently that my estranged brother has been indicted," Renard Johnson said in a statement. "I have not seen or spoken to him in many years. I have full confidence that our judicial system will resolve these allegations."

Timothy Johnson allegedly claimed to be a third-party promoter of NBA pre-season games and "convinced unwary investors to invest money with him to sponsor said pre-season games," U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas officials said.

Ponzi scheme allegedly scams more than 30 investors of $3 million

Timothy Johnson allegedly conducted the fraud through his companies, BOLO Entertainment LLC, BOLO Sports LLC and Shoot N’2 Sports LLC, the indictment states.

The Ponzi scheme robbed investors of more than $3 million between Feb. 9, 2009 to May 14, 2020, a federal indictment states. There were at least 30 investors defrauded in the scheme.

Timothy Johnson claimed to be a third-party promoter of NBA pre-season games and asked investors to invest money to help promote the pre-season games, the indictment states. He never used any of the investments to promote any NBA pre-season games, officials said.

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About $1 million of the $3 million taken from investors was used to pay fake investment profits to previous investors, the indictment states. Timothy Johnson allegedly used the rest of the funds for personal use.

Timothy Johnson "never disclosed the misappropriation or the extent of the losses of the investors’ funds," officials said.

The indictment states the amount of investments ranged from $12,000 to $61,508. A majority of the investments were about $50,000 each.

Timothy Johnson is facing up to 20 years in federal prison on each of wire fraud charges and 10 years in prison for each of the money laundering charges, officials said.

He pleaded not guilty April 11 and was granted a $50,000 signature bond while his case remains pending, federal court records show. His next federal court hearing is scheduled for May 2.

Aaron Martinez may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com or on Twitter @AMartinezEPT. Times reporter Adam Powell contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso man indicted in NBA multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme