Jack Johnson's Parents Scamming History
It's old news now, but we've all heard about and discussed how Jack Johnson's parents scammed him, stole almost all of his money, and have left him bankrupt, and with a mountain of debt.
Unfortunately, per Deadspin, that wasn't the first time they've screwed over a family member.
According to two sources with knowledge of the transaction, Johnson's parents secretly seized ownership of his grandfather's Las Vegas condominium to use as collateral for a loan. (To make this easy to follow, as there are multiple Jack Johnsons involved, we're going to number them. Jack Three is the NHL player; Jack Two is his father, who is accused of scamming both; Jack One [who died in October 2008] is the grandfather.) Clark County (Nev.) records show Jack One's deed to the condo dated May 5, 2002, when he retired to Vegas. On Oct. 20, 2004, Jack Two requested a change in deed over into his name, listing his Ann Arbor, Mich. address. Two sources tell us that Jack Two transferred the deed without Jack One's knowledge. The signature for Jack One on the original deed (left) and on the deed transfer (right) are significantly different.
I definitely recommend reading the whole article. Just a sad story all around, and if it's all true, no wonder JMFJ doesn't speak with his parents anymore.
January 28th, 2015 at 3:29 PM ^
Has anybody interviewed them? I want to know if they feel contrition.
January 28th, 2015 at 3:36 PM ^
Contrition? These people are sociopaths, plan and simple. they have been ripping off multiple family members for at least a decade.
January 28th, 2015 at 3:45 PM ^
I don't understand how people can do that to their own family members, especially their offspring.
January 28th, 2015 at 4:44 PM ^
I know that this changes nothing, and in no way will affect anything with the situation or how I feel about it. But Jack Johnson's parents are truly vile pieces of shit. I just had to get that out there somewhere.
January 28th, 2015 at 3:30 PM ^
Signified that he was pulling the wool over everyone's eyes, even his own father and son. . . . Sad story for all involved.
January 28th, 2015 at 3:35 PM ^
We at least know that all the money didn't go to dancing lessons.
January 28th, 2015 at 10:03 PM ^
Never trust anyone who tucks their hockey jersey in. Ever.
January 28th, 2015 at 3:32 PM ^
I can't wait to read Peter Klima's thoughts on this topic....
January 28th, 2015 at 3:42 PM ^
Bando was trying to convince us all in the last post on the Johnson's that Ma and Pa were really nice folks just a little misunderstood. I can't wait for that shoe to drop here.
January 28th, 2015 at 3:47 PM ^
Did he by any chance use the term "heteronormative"?
January 28th, 2015 at 4:33 PM ^
whatever it is, makes me not want to live on this planet anymore.
And those shit-bag parents should be in prison.
January 28th, 2015 at 4:47 PM ^
How can you type with your fingers in your ears?
January 28th, 2015 at 4:04 PM ^
I didn't saying they were misunderstood.
I'm just saying as people, my experience with them was extremely positive. Two really nice folks. A nice family to be around, Jack and Kenny were obviously two top-notch talented, friendly kids who were apparently raised well.
Turns out there's a dark side here, and it's awful. Money does weird things to people.
January 28th, 2015 at 4:58 PM ^
I don't know how it applies in the present situation--scamming your own family is a bit different from preying on the public--but for professional reasons I spent a chunk of my adult life dealing with people who run scams, and one characteristic almost all of them shared is that they come off as "really nice folks", great to be around.
If they weren't, they couldn't be successful at what they do.
January 28th, 2015 at 5:30 PM ^
My stepsisters' mother did the same thing. I wouldn't call it a scam, but the girls sang in commercials as kids and made nowhere near 30 mil but a nice down payment on a house. The money was supposed to be put away for them to get as adults. Instead, the mother ended up spending all the money on a variety of things, alcohol being one of them. I don't feel sorry for her; I feel sorry for them. And it isn't so much the loss of the money as the betrayal by the person or people you're supposed to be able to count on the most.
January 28th, 2015 at 4:59 PM ^
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January 28th, 2015 at 5:04 PM ^
My comment above would have been different. But you chalked up the actions of the parents to "pretty terrible decisions" and lectured the other posters to "stop the moralizing."
I don't know them from a hole in the wall, but I'd say their actions went well beyond a few "terrible decisions." I'd say they are simply terrible people, whether they greeted you with a smile or not.
January 28th, 2015 at 3:32 PM ^
These parents suck.
January 28th, 2015 at 3:33 PM ^
Are the middle generation Johnson's going to be facing any kind of charges or civil suits, or does the power of attorney and the elder Johnson's refusal to press ahead with charges mean they're in the clear?
It definitely seems like jail would be a fitting place for them.
January 28th, 2015 at 3:41 PM ^
I've only stayed at a holiday inn, so not a legal expert here, but I don't think jail is in their future.
Because elder Jack Johnson is dead, and declined to press charges, and since what they did with JMFJ was technically legal (just very very awful), I don't see what charges could be brought up against them
January 28th, 2015 at 3:50 PM ^
I am a lawyer, and I will say that I'm pretty sure that is incorrect.
While I'm not an expert on criminal law, I'm reasonably certain that the injured party in a criminal case is the State, and not the citizen. Therefore, if the statute of limitations has not expired, they may still be subject to criminal charges (theoretically).
The reason that criminal charges often aren't brought when individuals "decline" to press charges is because (1) prosecutions require time and money and (2) it is much harder to prosecute a case when the injured party isn't looking to punish the criminal. Therefore, it isn't worth the prosecutor's time to bring the charges in those kinds of cases.
EDIT: The above paragraph also explains why JJ's parents likely will not face jailtime for this. While the prosecutor MAY be able to bring charges (I don't know Nevada law), it is unlikely that he will.
January 28th, 2015 at 3:53 PM ^
Thanks for a more in-depth explanation.
I figured, even if they brought up charges, since Jack Grandpa was dead, it would be impossible to prove in court they scammed him over. Especially since he never did anything about it while he was alive
January 28th, 2015 at 11:02 PM ^
to this guy from another lawyer.
January 28th, 2015 at 3:40 PM ^
January 28th, 2015 at 3:43 PM ^
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January 28th, 2015 at 3:45 PM ^
Jack is such a cool dude...back during his UM playing days i was in junior high, he gave me his (slightly) broken stick after a game and signed it later on...Always been one of my favorites scine then..i've seen him around town in the off season and hes always been friendly to me and everyone else. Hard to comprehend how big of assholes parents could be to their kid. Its all greed.
January 28th, 2015 at 3:48 PM ^
tweeted a week or so ago that he'd take Casey Anthony as a mom over Jack Johnson's mom.
January 28th, 2015 at 3:50 PM ^
These people are fu**ing a**holes. How shameful.
January 28th, 2015 at 3:55 PM ^
January 28th, 2015 at 3:55 PM ^
I feel bad for little Jack (I can't believe I called him that) Johnson. His parents are clearly very bad people but they probably helped him get to where he is now. He must be very torn. If they're willing to do this to the people that are closest to them it makes you wonder what else they've gotten away with.
January 28th, 2015 at 3:57 PM ^
those parents are jacked up
January 28th, 2015 at 3:58 PM ^
January 28th, 2015 at 4:50 PM ^
Well, if his parents take all of his money, he can fall back to making crappy acoustic songs.
January 28th, 2015 at 8:28 PM ^
He is supposed to come here to play hockey and go to school. Can he do so now? Where will his parents fit in to that situation now??
January 29th, 2015 at 2:04 AM ^