Former Ohio State quarterback Art Schlichter was sentenced to 10 years in prison and was required to pay restitution for bank and wire fraud charges in connection with a scam that involved scalping Ohio State and Super Bowl tickets.
Schlichter, 51, was given the maximum sentence on Thursday on each charge as part of a plea agreement.
Schlichter is also facing federal charges of filing a false tax return, according to the U.S. District Court, 10tv reported.
In February, 10 Investigates broke the story about Schlicther allegedly running a ticket scam linked to a Columbus socialite. Documents filed on Wednesday told the story the same way his alleged victims told 10 Investigates.
"I bought them. I gave him a check for $1,960," said one victim Dr. John Jordan.
An attorney said his client was also taken by Schlichter's charm.
"Steve would get off the phone and praise him saying he's got his life back together now. That went for about six months," said Kurt Gearhiser about his now deceased client Steve McCoy.
Schlicther allegedly convinced McCoy he would get repaid with tickets and royalties from his autobiography, "Busted: The Rise and Fall of Art Schlicther."
In April, a Franklin County grand jury indicted Schlichter on 13 counts. At least 12 people were victimized, according to court documents.
Schlichter, who has been in jail since February, is scheduled to be arraigned on the tax charges on Friday.
Schlichter was the last starting quarterback for Ohio State coach Woody Hayes. He played at Ohio State from 1978-81, and was selected as the No. 4 pick in the 1982 NFL draft by the Baltimore Colts.
In parts of three seasons, Schlichter served an NFL suspension for gambling and played in only 13 games.
He was in prison in Indiana from 1994 to 2006 for fraud and forgery related to gambling.
As part of the plea agreement, any sentence for federal charges would run concurrently with the Franklin County sentence.
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