Ex-UConn star Tate George gets 9 years prison for fraud

(Reuters) - Tate George, a former University of Connecticut star who later played in the National Basketball Association, was sentenced on Thursday to nine years in prison for running what prosecutors called a $2 million real estate Ponzi scheme.

U.S. District Judge Mary Cooper in Trenton, New Jersey, who imposed the sentence, also ordered George to serve three years of supervised release and make $2.55 million of restitution.

The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman in New Jersey.

George, 47, of Newark, was convicted in September 2013 on the four wire fraud counts he faced.

Prosecutors said George cashed in on his celebrity from 2005 to 2011 when he raised more than $2 million…