Ex-Raider sentenced to 5 years in prison in Petaluma fraud case

Michael Bennett stole more than $200,000 from his girlfriend’s parents.|

A former Oakland Raiders running back has been sentenced to five years in prison for stealing more than $200,000 from his girlfriend’s parents.

Michael Antwon Bennett, 38 of Petaluma was remanded in a Santa Rosa courtroom Wednesday and ordered by Judge Elliot Daum to begin serving his sentence immediately. Under state law, he could eligible for release in about 2-1/2 years.

Bennett, who played in the NFL for nine years, retiring from the Raiders in 2010, previously pleaded no contest to stealing loan documents from his in-laws in 2015 and using the papers to forge signatures on a new loan.

The theft followed a 2012 Florida conviction for wire fraud in which he was ordered to serve time in federal prison.

His Sonoma County conviction could make him ineligible to receive money as part of the league’s multi-million dollar player concussion settlement.

Bennett was the 27th overall pick in the 2001 NFL draft, selected by the Minnesota Vikings out of the University of Wisconsin. He was a Pro Bowl selection the following year and went on to play for the Kansas City Chiefs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and San Diego Chargers. He finished his career with the Raiders.

You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 707-568-5312 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ppayne.

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