Ex-adviser gets out of jail early, but victims get little

Brent Schrotenboer of The San Diego Union-Tribune used court records in an investigation of John W. Gillette Jr., a former financial adviser to high-profile athletes. He is four years removed from prison after fleecing those athletes out of more than $11 million. He serves as the chief operations officer at Shadow Mountain Community Church in San Diego. The investigation found Gillette was released three years after his sentencing because he cooperated in recovering more than $5 million, including turning over his 50 percent share of Seau's Mission Valley restaurant. "But after attorneys were paid and assets distributed through bankruptcy court, many victims said they received only a small fraction of what Gillette took, if anything." Records show Gillette's family lives in a three-bedroom house with mountain views (owned by his in-laws) and is financing a 2005 BMW SUV.