Man gets 7 years in prison for hockey scam

A Mercer Island man accused of swindling investors out of more than $1 million to fund a youth-hockey team was sentenced to seven years in prison Friday.

Gerald Sherman, 55, was convicted by a jury in December of 15 counts of wire fraud, four counts of securities fraud and two counts of mail fraud.

In addition to the seven-year prison term, Sherman was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay $1.37 million in restitution.

Sherman was indicted in May 2005 in what was referred to as the "Hockey Dad" case because of his involvement in founding the Washington Evergreens youth-hockey team in 1999.

In running the team, Sherman took players and their parents to tournaments in Florida, Quebec, Ontario and elsewhere, telling them investors were paying the bills. Testimony at his trial revealed that Sherman told investors he was putting their money in Indonesian gold that he planned to sell for big profits in Europe. Instead, the money was used to support the youth-hockey program and pay Sherman's personal living expenses.

No gold was purchased, said the U.S. Attorney's Office in Seattle. Sherman testified that he was never able to complete a transaction.

Prosecutors said Sherman carried out the swindle over five years.

Sherman was "deceptive and deceitful in defrauding others for personal gain," Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Tate London told U.S. District Court Judge John C. Coughenour, who imposed the sentence.

The judge allowed Sherman to remain free on electronic home monitoring pending his assignment to a federal prison.

Peyton Whitely: 206-464-2259 or pwhitely@seattletimes.com