Former Hawks exec sent to prison after stealing $3.7M from team

A former Hawks executive is headed to federal prison after admitting to a yearslong scheme that drained millions of dollars from the franchise.

Lester T. Jones Jr., 46, was sentenced to three years and five months after pleading guilty to wire fraud, according to federal officials.

Prosecutors said Jones embezzled about $3.7 million while serving as the team’s Senior Vice President of Finance.

Authorities said Jones used his role to submit fraudulent expense reimbursements and misuse corporate credit cards over several years.

He joined the Hawks’ accounting and finance department in 2016 and was promoted in 2021, a move that gave him greater oversight of expense approvals and the team’s corporate credit card program.

That access allowed him to funnel money to himself from early 2021 through June 2025, prosecutors said.

Court records outlined a pattern of personal spending that included luxury travel, high-end retail purchases, jewelry and entertainment.

Among the expenses cited were tens of thousands of dollars in trips to the Bahamas and Thailand, nearly $100,000 in apparel, a diamond ring valued at more than $115,000 and significant spending on watches and event tickets.

“Jones turned his position into an opportunity to steal the team’s funds,” U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said in a statement.

In addition to the prison term, Jones was ordered to pay nearly $3.9 million in restitution and will serve three years of supervised release.