Former NFL player says ex-UGA coach duped him

Jim Donnan convinced Bell to invest the money in GLC Limited, a liquidation company that would buy appliances and furniture for resale, according to documents filed last month in U.S. Bankruptcy Court by Bell’s lawyers. Bell’s attorneys say Donnan, though, was the front man for a scam. Donnan has filed for bankruptcy protection and Bell has filed a claim in bankruptcy court to recover his money. Bell’s attorneys Michael Hanson and Brian Gwitt on Friday declined to comment on the case. Donnan’s lawyer Ed Tolley did not return a phone call and an email seeking comment but had said previously that the ex-coach was not involved in a scheme. Donnan has been entangled in a legal battle with the new operators of GLC, who have also accused the College Football Hall of Fame inductee of running an investment scheme for his own profit. Federal prosecutors have not charged Donnan. It wasn’t immediately clear whether federal authorities are investigating, and an FBI spokesman declined comment. GLC is being restructured in an Ohio bankruptcy court after filing for protection in February. The new operators were seeking to recoup what they said were improper gains Donnan received after convincing fellow college coaches and others to invest $70 million in an alleged Ponzi scheme. Donnan, who coached at UGA from 1996 to 2000 and is an ex-ESPN analyst, filed for bankruptcy protection in July amid GLC’s financial woes.