King’s Trial Begins

Boxing promoter Don King’s insurance fraud trial started with prosecutors calling him an insurance thief and his lawyer saying he was a benevolent banker who lent hundreds of thousands of dollars to his fighters.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Gardephe said it would be easy to conclude King cheated Lloyd’s of London of $350,000 by submitting a falsified contract for a 1991 fight that was canceled.

The trial is the second federal trial for King, who is squeezing it between the first and second comeback fights of his star client, Mike Tyson. King was acquitted of tax evasion in 1985.

If convicted on the current charges, he faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count.