SENTENCING IN WIRE FRAUD CASE

BUFFALO, N.Y.—Trent Orbaker, 49, of Orlando, Florida, was sentenced to an 18-month prison term today by U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny, U.S. Attorney Terrance P. Flynn of the Western District of New York announced. Mr. Flynn said Orbaker pled guilty to mail fraud before Judge Skretny earlier this year on July 11.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul J. Campana said Orbaker was one of four investors in Hall Of Fame Life Promotions, Inc., a partnership established in 2006. HOFLP was in the business of selling items to sports teams. Orbaker’s ownership share in HOFLP was 15 percent. Campana said that from time to time between April 2007 and January 2008, Orbaker accessed a $100,000 line of credit HOFLP had that was thought to have been closed, but which remained open, unbeknownst to the other partners. After Orbaker discovered that the line of credit was still open, he used it for personal expenses, such as mortgage payments on his personal residence, a new roof for his house, and personal investments, without notifying or receiving the consent of the other HOFLP partners. Orbaker misappropriated about $179,000 in this manner. To prevent detection by his partners, Orbaker mailed profit and loss statements and HOFLP financial summaries to the partnership’s majority investor (former Bills quarterback Jim Kelly), intentionally omitting from the statements any indication of the funds Orbaker was misappropriating from the line of credit.

At today’s sentencing, Dan Kelly, Jim Kelly’s brother, addressed the Court concerning the impact the misappropriations had on the partnership. In addition to imposing the prison sentence, Judge Skretny ordered Orbaker to pay restitution to HOFLP in the amount of $204,321,000, and ordered that Orbaker be placed on Supervised Release for three years following completion of his prison term. The restitution amount includes interest, accounting fees, and attorney’s fees. To date, Orbaker had repaid $63,000 to the partnership. He confessed to the fraud when FBI agents confronted him in March this year. Judge Skretny permitted Orbaker to surrender voluntarily, after January 1, 2009, to begin service of his sentence.

The conviction was the culmination of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent In-Charge Laurie Bennett.