ATLANTA — A man who concocted an extortion scheme involving a false sexual assault accusation against former Georgia Tech basketball coach Josh Pastner will spend nearly three years in prison.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Atlanta announced a prison sentence of two years and three months on Thursday for Ronald Bell, who pleaded guilty in the case earlier this year.
Bell, his fiancée Jennifer Pendley and a Georgia Tech security guard had conspired to falsely accuse Pastner of assaulting Pendley, wit hthe security guard as a "witness," the government said.
According to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Bell told the security guard the false accusation could get them a payout worth $20 million - with Bell promising the security guard a share of the money and a Jeep.
The government said Bell went forward with the plot, going as far as to contact Georgia Tech representatives to demand money in exchange for keeping the "assault" quiet. The release said he sent texts such as: "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 . . . .”
The scheme continued even after Georgia Tech refused payment, with Pendley filing a lawsuit claiming sexual battery and assault.
"These claims falsely alleged that the guard witnessed the coach sexually assault Pendley," the government's release stated. "Ultimately, the security guard admitted that his statements were false and that Bell asked him to lie to support the false sexual assault claim."
Bell, 57, was once a close friend of Pastner, who departed the Tech basketball program after last season.
“Ronald Bell tried to extort Georgia Tech and ruin the reputation of its basketball coach,” North District of Georgia U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said in a statement. “As federal prosecutors, we have a responsibility to the citizens of this district to pursue accountability and justice for crimes of sexual violence. But in this case Bell attempted to exploit the mission of our office, and law enforcement partners, to combat sexual assault through a brazen effort to enrich himself at the expense of Georgia Tech and a member of its staff. Bell has now been held accountable for his crime.”
Bell's sentence includes three years of supervised release following the prison term.
