After pleading guilty to stealing more than $86,000 from a youth basketball club, the former mayor of Atlantic City was recently sentenced to 30 days in prison and 11 months of home confinement. The former mayor has been ordered to pay restitution to his victims in the amount of $86,790 and perform 200 hours of community service.
Former mayor of Atlantic City, New Jersey, Frank Gilliam was a co-founder of AC Starz Basketball Club and incorporated the nonprofit organization in 2011. While serving as a member of the Atlantic City Council in 2013 and later, as mayor of Atlantic City in 2018, Gilliam solicited donations for AC Starz from various individuals and entities under the false pretense that the contributions were for a youth basketball team.
Instead, Gilliam used most of the donations to purchase expensive clothing, trips, and meals for himself. Abusing the power of his office while neglecting underprivileged children, Gilliam defrauded the contributors of at least $86,790.
On October 3, 2019, the Justice Department announced Gilliam had pled guilty to one count of wire fraud after defrauding contributors of AC Starz Basketball Club. A few hours later, Gilliam submitted his resignation letter.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez sentenced Gilliam to 30 days in federal prison followed by 11 months of home confinement. Gilliam also received three years of supervised release, ordered to pay restitution to his victims in the amount of $86,790 and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service.
“I stand before this court as a fractured human being,” Gilliam told Judge Rodriguez at his sentencing. “The mistake that I made is not something that I am proud of. It is something that I’m very ashamed of…I want to apologize to this court for being in front of you when I knew better.”
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