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The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia announced Thursday that Ronald Bell has been sentenced to 33 months in prison plus three years of supervised release for leading an extortion scheme against Georgia Tech and its former men’s basketball head coach, Josh Pastner.
A press release revealed information surrounding the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Huber. In addition, U.S. Attorney Ryan Buchanan provided more information on the matter in the statement:
“According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Ronald Bell pleaded guilty to conspiring with his co-defendant, Jennifer Pendley, and a security guard at Georgia Tech, to extort the university by falsely accusing the coach of the men’s basketball team of sexual assault. Bell recruited the security guard to falsely claim that the guard witnessed an assault by the coach. Bell told the security guard that the false accusation of sexual assault could be worth $20 million to Bell and Pendley and promised the guard a share of the money and a new Jeep.”
In addition, Bell communicated with representatives of Georgia Tech and wanted money in exchange for keeping the fictitious sexual assault from being reported. He said that the case would “get very ugly” and that he “tried to resolve this without damaging GT’s reputation.”
When Georgia Tech refused to pay Bell, Pendley filed a lawsuit “claiming sexual battery, sexual assault, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.” The false allegations included the security guard saying he witnessed Pastner sexually assault Pendley prior to a Nov. 22, 2016 game between Georgia Tech and Sam Houston State,” according to ESPN’s Mark Schlabach. The guard later admitted his claims were false, and that Bell asked him to lie as part of the scheme.
An Arizona judge previously convicted Bell on six misdemeanor charges for falsely accusing Pastner of sexually assaulting Pendley in a Houston hotel room in February 2016, per Schlabach. The 57-year-old Bell was also previously convicted of the charge of conspiracy on March 1, 2023, after pleading guilty.
Per Schlabach, Bell has been jailed in Atlanta since September 2022. He will remain imprisoned until May 2025.
Pastner, 45, was a Division I head coach from 2009-2023. He led Memphis from 2009-2016 before taking over the Georgia Tech program for the past seven years. Georgia Tech parted ways with Pastner in March after a second straight losing season.
