Agent for Deceased Saints Player Faces Wire Fraud

The sports agent of late New Orleans Saints defensive lineman Frank Warren has been charged with one-count bill of information with wire fraud.

The charges, which were brought Thursday by U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente, stem from Benjamin Geller’s alleged misuse of funds from an insurance policy and trust that Warren set up to provide for his wife Terrell Warren, and children before he died in December 2002.

According to court documents, Warren established a $1 million insurance policy to provide for his family. That money rolled into a trust upon his death with Geller designated as the trustee.

Under the provisions of the trust, Geller was not to use any of the money for his own personal use. But court documents show that Geller did just that, spending more than $500,000 of the trust for his personal use such as travel, lodging, and entertainment purposes between 2003 and 2007. The court documents further show that Geller, 53, used money from the trust for his personal business and other miscellaneous purchases.

It wasn’t until around 2009 or 2010 that Terrell Warren became suspicious something was going wrong with the trust when the disbursements became lower than in previous years.

If convicted of the wire and fraud charges, Geller, who is from Austin, Tex., faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, probation and a fine of $250,000.

Warren, who played all 13 of his NFL seasons with the Saints, died of a heart attack in December 2002 at the age of 43.