Former [Atlanta Hawks](https://www.sportico.com/t/atlanta-hawks/) senior vice president of finance Lester T. Jones Jr. was charged last week in Georgia for wire fraud as part of an alleged embezzlement scheme to defraud the Hawks of $3.8 million. Jones is accused of manipulating financial reports and doctoring emails to illicitly use his Hawks corporate card to travel to Hawaii, Thailand, Switzerland and other exotic locations and to purchase Louis Vuitton apparel and jewelry.
The charge was first reported by _The Athletic_.
Jones worked for the Hawks from March 2016 to June 2025 in the team’s corporate offices. For most of that time he was the Hawks’ second most senior accounting executive after the CFO.
In the charging document filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bernita B. Malloy say Jones developed a practice of falsely attributing large balances incurred on a credit card to team operations. He allegedly did so “to divert attention away from the unauthorized personal charges he incurred.”
Jones is also accused of manipulating his position of authority to conceal fraudulent practices. Jones was American Express’ “sole contact regarding payment issues” for the Hawks and he determined which Hawks employees should get a company card. Jones allegedly had multiple American Express cards assigned to his name.
“By virtue of his position,” the charging document states, Jones had “special access” to the team’s internal financial system, and he allegedly “exploited” it for personal gain. Jones allegedly manipulated the reimbursement platform to conceal and obscure transactions and expenses.
In January, Jones allegedly instructed an “E.D.,” another employee in the Hawks’ accounting and finance department, to prepare and submit a reimbursement request for Jones in the amount of nearly $230,000. The charges supposedly stemmed from a stay and accompanying expenses at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas for the [NBA](https://www.sportico.com/t/nba/) Emirates Cup in December 2024. Jones allegedly then altered an email from American Express to change an overdue balance of approximately $217,000 to match the reimbursement request dollar figure and forwarded it to E.D. for payment.
The charging document says there was a big problem: The charge was fake and and the Wynn Hotel never issued an invoice for a stay.
Jones allegedly committed wire fraud by using “false and fraudulent pretenses” to obtain money through a wire communication that crossed state lines (as required for a federal wire fraud charge). Specifically, he’s accused of transmitting data from the Hawks’ corporate server in Georgia to the computer server of the Hawks’ electronic expense reimbursement platform—Workday—which is in Virginia. Jones used that alleged scheme to cause a fraudulent expense reimbursement of nearly $230,000.
The maximum sentence for wire fraud is 20 years in prison, though if Jones lacks a criminal record—presumably his previous record is clean since the Hawks hired him to a high-ranking position—his likely sentence, if convicted, would be much shorter. Federal prosecutors also seek forfeiture of Jones’ property and money to account for his alleged fraud.
Jones, of course, will have the opportunity to present a defense, deny the government’s narrative and contest the allegations.
The Hawks declined to comment on the matter.
An order signed by U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee on Oct. 31 indicated that Jones has 15 days to notify the court as to whether he’ll proceed to trial or enter a guilty plea.