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Two charged in $2.2M scheme against Colts' Freeney

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A financial adviser for Indianapolis Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney and the adviser's lover have been arrested on federal wire fraud charges that allege they swindled about $2.2 million from the lineman.

Eva Weinberg, 48, of Los Angeles, and Michael Stern, 51, of Miami, were arrested last week by FBI agents who believe the couple were trying to flee the United States.

Stern appeared in a Miami courtroom Wednesday and will be extradited in the coming weeks to California, where he and Weinberg face charges.

"Mr. Stern denies he violated the law and it's his position he and Ms. Weinberg didn't steal any money from Mr. Freeney," said Stern's attorney, Henry Bell.

Weinberg has posted $225,000 bond. A phone message left for her attorney, Mark Byrne, was not immediately returned. Freeney was not available for comment, his publicist said.

An FBI affidavit only identified Freeney by his initials, but Bell confirmed that the perennial Pro Bowler was the purported victim.

Weinberg worked as Freeney's financial adviser for the past two years after leaving Bank of America Corp.'s Merrill Lynch financial management division. She handled his personal finances, real estate investments and business dealings involving a Hollywood restaurant, Rolling Stone LA.

About $2.2 million was wired in nearly 140 separate transactions from Freeney's bank account by Weinberg to Arm's Reach Consulting, a company owned by Stern, between June 2010 and October 2011, authorities said. Freeney didn't approve the transfers and was unaware Stern was the recipient.

Stern told a confidential informant in recorded conversations that the money transferred to him by Weinberg was to be used to pay his bills and personal expenses, according to the affidavit. He also said $1.5 million was going to be put toward buying a private jet, court records show.

The informant also told investigators that Stern intended to flee the U.S., possibly to the Bahamas, Trinidad or Israel, and had plans to travel to Los Angeles to get Weinberg before she was arrested.

Freeney, 32, has recorded 102-1/2 sacks in his 10-year professional career and is scheduled to make a base salary of $14 million in 2012.

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  1. Doug Henning!

  2. These guy were thugs — they grew up in freaking Haughville! Smh, sigh. If the mayor needs/wants "quality" Black Hoosiers who are NOT corrupt, give me a call — I know plenty. Land bank info here - http://www.kubepharm.com/indylandbank/IndyLandBank.html

  3. Magician and illusionist!

  4. The basic idea of nice apartments with parking and retail is a good one, but this design seems overwhelmingly big/tall for Broad Ripple. The size could be disguised a bit with lots of big trees/landscaping, but the complex is too massive to blend in easily. That section of canal between College and Westfield will also need to be upgraded on both sides. Nice apartments facing onto a nice promenade with shade trees/plantings could bring together the canal towpath/Monon recreation, the outdoor seating at existing restaurants, and this project into something that upgrades the whole area. A plan for the whole stretch makes more sense than facing nice new housing onto what looks like a ditch. Is there a plan? Does the public have input? Who pays? The apartment idea seems to be reasonable, but Whole Foods is not a good idea for appropriate retail. Besides the store being physically too big, there are already Fresh Market at 54xCollege and Whole Foods in Nora for fancy groceries. Good Earth and Kroger are within walking distance of the Shell site. There are at least 7 grocery stores within a safe bike ride. Whole Foods would add nothing but traffic congestion. This design is on the right track, but there needs to be more work done to ensure that it blends in with and enhances the existing community. A project that large will set a tone for that whole part of town. It could be a real asset, but only if done right.

  5. I did not move to Zionsville to live in Carmel. This and the subsequent developments to follow will ensure a vanilla uniformity of strip malls and apartment buildings as we seek to bring our town down to the least common denominator. We were warned before recent elections that pro-development council members would make sure their friends (landowners and developers) would be able to make their millions off of the exploitation of Zionsville. Why in God's name would we sell out the best preserved small town in the State of Indiana?

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