An Arizona man has pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit extortion from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
The Department of Justice said in a press release Wednesday that Ronald Bell, 56, of Oro Valley, Arizona conspired with two others to taint the reputation of a coach with false accusations, hoping to get a bribe out of the school to not report the coach.
“The defendant tried to extort Georgia Tech and egregiously tarnish the reputation of the university’s coach with a false claim of sexual assault,” U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said. “By his guilty plea, he acknowledged the lie and his criminal conduct, and will now face the consequences for his crime.”
According to a release from the Department of Justice, Ronald Bell pleaded guilty to conspiring with his co-defendant, Jennifer Pendley, and a security guard at Georgia Tech, to falsely accuse the coach of the Georgia Tech men’s basketball team of sexual assault. Bell admitted to recruiting the security guard to falsely claim that the guard witnessed the coach assault Pendley. Information presented in court also revealed that Bell told the security guard the false accusation of sexual assault could be worth $20 million and promised the guard a share of the money.
“Bell sought to severely damage the reputation of the institution and their coach solely for his own financial gain,” Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta, said. “The FBI will not tolerate false allegations and will do everything in our power to seek the truth and hold individuals who commit these types of crimes accountable for their selfish actions.”
The press release also stated that Bell communicated with representatives of Georgia Tech and demanded money in exchange for not reporting the claimed sexual assault. One text message Bell sent to a representative of Georgia Tech read: “This is going to get very ugly. GT has made no effort ... to amicably resolve this ... I guess this has to get ugly. I tried to resolve this without damaging GT’s reputation....”
After Georgia Tech refused to pay the bribe, Pendley filed a lawsuit claiming sexual battery, sexual assault, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. These claims alleged that the Georgia Tech security guard witnessed the coach sexually assaulting Pendley. Ultimately, the security guard admitted that his statements were false and that Bell asked him to lie to support the false sexual assault claim.
Pendley previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit extortion on February 22. Sentencing for Bell is scheduled for June 8 at 11:00 a.m., before U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash. The Department of Justice says the case is being investigated by the FBI.
