The Atlanta Falcons are going into an off-season full of change for their team. Not only did they already move on from the Kirk Cousins experiment, but they already have (they hope) their next franchise quarterback in Michael Penix Jr.
However, one former Falcons player is seeing his life turned upside down.
Breaking: Former Falcons Player Sentenced To Years In Prison (Report)
One former Atlanta Falcons linebacker sentenced to federal prison for using a Ponzi scheme to defraud victims of more than $5 million:
According to federal prosecutors, 43-year-old John Leake lied to victims that he was involved in a “lucrative” real estate investment, gold mines in Alaska and Ghana, and other ventures – promising high rates of return on investment.
In addition to two-and-a-half years in federal prison, Leake was ordered to pay $5.3 million in restitution. He pleaded guilty in September 2024 to one count of wire fraud and one count of transactional money laundering.
During the 2005 season, Leake recorded four tackles for the Packers in three games. It was the Atlanta Falcons that he spent the majority of his two-season career playing for, where he appeared in 22 games:
| Def Interceptions | Fumbles | Tackles | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Age | Team | Lg | Pos | G | GS | Int | Yds | IntTD | Lng | PD | FF | Fmb | FR | Yds | FRTD | Sk | Comb | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sfty | AV | Awards |
| 2005 | 24 | 2TM | NFL | LB | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2005 | 24 | ATL | NFL | LB | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2005 | 24 | GNB | NFL | LB | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2006 | 25 | ATL | NFL | LB | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 2 Yrs | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 17 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||||
| 17 Game Avg | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||||
| ATL (2 Yrs) | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||||
| GNB (1 Yr) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
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