Melissa Goodwin, a former top administrator of the T.J. Martell Foundation, pleaded guilty to federal charges on
Tuesday in connection with allegations that she embezzled $3.7 million from the organization by using business credit cards to purchase Super Bowl tickets and other items.
Goodwin pleaded guilty to a single count of wire fraud, alleging that she exploited her position of power over the charity, which is one of the largest in the music industry.
On May 20, Goodwin, who faces a maximum term of 20 years in prison, will be sentenced. According to Billboard, she also faces a $3.7 million forfeiture and a fine of up to $250,000. She can, however, reduce the term and punishment by cooperating with prosecutors. She also is facing separate civil lawsuits from the foundation.
Goodwin, 55, is accused of using the foundation's funds to buy expensive and rare alcohols, aircraft tickets, hotel stays, and as part of a multimillion-dollar ticketing system, according to the DOJ. The Foundation has filed two lawsuits: one against Goodwin and Darran Brown, whose companies Executive Sports Group (ESG) and Go Charity were allegedly complicit in the fraud, and a $5 million civil lawsuit against accounting firms Kraft CPAs and Dorfman Abrams Music for breach of contract and professional negligence.
Tony Martell, a renowned music businessman, established the T.J. Martell Foundation to support cancer research in honor of his son, who died of the disease in 1975. Through donations and an annual auction, it has raised more than $280 million throughout the years; Martell.
Goodwin allegedly devised a scheme to defraud the T.J. Martell Foundation by purchasing approximately $3.96 million in tickets from online ticket vendors for concerts by Lady Gaga, Celine Dion, and others, as well as Super Bowl LIV, between July 2018 and June 2020, using a Foundation credit card she had obtained in her own name. She then allegedly gave the tickets to a charity auction firm, stating that the Martell foundation had obtained them for free or at a reduced price. It further claims that she hid the purchases by falsifying credit card and bank statements. It further claims that Goodwin falsified the signature of the foundation's CEO on checks worth roughly $1 million.
According to the affidavit, Goodwin falsified the signature of the foundation's CEO on six cheques totaling $966,275.78 that were not approved, in addition to manipulating credit card and financial data.
Goodwin had been with the Foundation since 2005, and from 2018 until July 2020, he served as executive vice president and general manager.
