Man who bought Jackie Robinson contracts pleads guilty to wire fraud (was facing a maximum sentence of over 300 years)

Mykalai Kontilai, the broadcast executive-turned-entrepreneur who bought Jackie Robinson's first major and minor league professional contracts and then used them to launch a sports memorabilia/auction business, pleaded guilty to wire fraud Thursday in Las Vegas.

He will be sentenced Dec. 4 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, according to the Department of Justice.

Kontilai, 55, purchased Robinson's Montreal Royals contract for the 1946 season and Robinson's 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers contract for $2 million in 2013, subsequently using their purported value to lure investors into his sports memorabilia/auction business called, at various times, Collector's Café or Collector's Coffee ("CCI").

Kontilai then raised more than $23 million and misappropriated $6.1 million to bankroll his own "lavish lifestyle," manufactured evidence to mislead federal investigators, and "concealed the proceeds of his scheme" from the IRS.

In mid-2019, Kontilai left the United States amid SEC and DOJ investigations, eventually unsuccessfully claiming asylum in Russia as a whistleblower of American corruption.

In 2020, he was charged in an 18-count indictment in Nevada that included securities fraud, multiple counts of wire fraud, money laundering and failure to file tax returns -- and a six-count indictment in Colorado including conspiracy to obstruct proceedings, obstruction of proceedings, tampering with documents and false statements.

The only crime I see here is at the end - concealing proceeds (from IRS I presume) and possibly manufacturing evidence depending on what specifically that is (could’ve have simply estimated the value of something incorrectly).

Everything described up front, though written as if it’s all criminal, makes it sound like the entire enterprise was illegal when it’s not.

Reminds me of the Trump case where the value of Mar a Lago was in question.

justice.gov-—United States v. Mykalai Kontilai (aka Michael Contile)

Court Docket No.: 2:20-CR-109

Court Assigned: This case is assigned to the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, Lloyd D. George Federal Courthouse, 333 Las Vegas Blvd. South Las Vegas, NV 89101 before Judge Cristina D. Silva.

Criminal Charges:

In an indictment unsealed on October 13, 2020, Mykalai Kontilai, aka Michael Contile, formerly of Las Vegas, Nevada and New York, New York, was charged with one count of securities fraud, six counts of wire fraud, six counts of laundering of money instruments, one count of money transaction in property derived from specified unlawful activity, and four counts of willful failure to file tax returns for his alleged participation in an investment fraud scheme.

According to the indictment, Kontilai allegedly misappropriated $6.1 million in investor-funds, manufactured evidence to mislead an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and concealed the proceeds of his fraudulent scheme from the IRS.

The indictment alleges that from 2012 through 2018, Kontilai lured investors into giving him money to start an e-commerce auction business. Kontilai allegedly falsely told investors that he invested millions of dollars of his own money in the business and was not taking “a dime of salary.” According to the filing, Kontilai led bank officials to believe that money he withdrew was for business purposes when, in fact, it was for himself.

On one occasion alone he allegedly withdrew $770,000 in cash from a company bank account, not to purchase inventory for the company, but for his personal use. He also allegedly used investor funds to purchase a Cadillac with the vanity tag, “MYKALAI,” and to pay for private school tuition and rent on luxury homes throughout the country. Kontilai is also charged with failing to file tax returns for tax years 2015 through 2018 when he was engaged in this scheme.

Kontilai has also been charged in the District of Colorado with one count of conspiracy to obstruct proceedings, two counts of obstruction of proceedings, one count of tampering with documents, and two counts of false statements.

For more information about the charges in United States v. Mykalai Kontilai, please see below:

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