Man gets 21 months for collapse of golf tour

Gregg Wood must pay restitution for defrauding Pro Tour Hawaii

UPDATE In 2006, Pro Tour Hawaii's former chief financial officer Gregg V. Wood was convicted of defrauding the business and its owners Sandy and Tina Mohr. Wood was sentenced to federal prison but his conviction was overturned on appeal in 2007. —Honolulu Star-Advertiser For subsequent coverage of this case, see: » March '05: Scammed golfers have shot at par » June '06: Golf tour backer convicted of fraud » Oct. '06: Man gets 21 months for collapse of golf tour » Jan. '08: Hawaii fraud victims won't be repaid $62,675

A Maui man convicted of defrauding the 2001 Pro Tour Hawaii, causing its collapse, was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $62,675 in restitution with interest.

U.S. District Judge David Ezra sentenced Gregg V. Wood yesterday to the maximum term under advisory sentencing guidelines. Wood will then be placed on three years of supervised release.

Ezra noted that Wood was a danger to the community and had victimized the tour and its principles for his own selfish purposes, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Leslie Osborne.

The guidelines recommended a range of 15 to 21 months' imprisonment.

A federal jury convicted Wood in May of one count of wire fraud for transferring $5,000 from the Pro Tour account to an individual in California.

Wood, the tour's financial backer, had guaranteed $2.1 million in financial support for prize money and for operating expenses. As chief financial officer for the tour with access to its expense account, he was accused of defrauding the tour of more than $62,000 by writing eight checks to himself in amounts from $3,000 to $19,000.

The tour was canceled in February that year after only three events when $700,000 in entry fees were reported missing and winners' checks began bouncing.