Steve Gordon describes himself as a gym rat who lived a dream training NBA players and America's top junior basketball prospects.
The US workout guru's life changed six or seven years ago when, while running practices at Seattle's elite Pro Club, he began to mix and befriend some of the world's richest people, including Microsoft billionaires Paul Allen and Steve Ballmer.
"All of a sudden I'm hanging around with people with truly unimaginable wealth," Gordon, 62, wrote in an emotional letter to the US District Court judge who on Thursday in Seattle is expected to send him to prison.
"It was a strange experience, and I believe that it impacted me in a very negative way."
Gordon, who worked for the Seattle Supersonics, Minnesota Timberwolves and Portland Trailblazers NBA clubs and was known as "The Hat Man" because he always wore hats on the court, said he realised how little money he had.
That's when he set out to emulate his new billionaire pals.
He struck business deals with friends, family and some new contacts, including Melbourne's Knox Basketball Incorporated.
Knox is one of Australia's largest basketball organisations with 5500 junior players and 9000 members.
Gordon told Knox's then executive director, Wayne Carroll, a former Australian Olympic and NBL player, that former Microsoft chief Ballmer "wanted to promote basketball overseas".
Knox, under the plan, could be the global headquarters.
Gordon received a $US4,000 ($A5,440) monthly consulting fee from Knox for almost two years.
To keep the scheme and payments alive prosecutors allege Gordon had an associate pretend to be Ballmer and call Carroll approximately 10 times between October 2011 and June 2013.
Ballmer did have a close friendship with Gordon, but never agreed to invest in overseas basketball operations through Gordon.
Knox was fleeced of $US100,000, but was not the only victim of the Ponzi-style scheme Gordon created.
Friends, family and former Supersonics six-time NBA All-Star Shawn Kemp were left out of pocket.
About $US4 million was fleeced in various schemes, with Gordon fooling victims with calls from people impersonating banking, taxation and political figures, including former US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and former Attorney-General Eric Holder.
"Over a period of more than five years, defendant Stephen Gordon defrauded approximately 30 victims of approximately $US4 million through a variety of inter-related confidence schemes, each of which was based on lies," Assistant US Attorney Matthew Diggs wrote in a sentencing memorandum.
Gordon has entered a guilty plea to one count of wire fraud and prosecutors have asked for a five-year sentence.
Gordon is asking for a two-year sentence, with his lawyers arguing almost all of the money he took from investors went to failed investments, consultants, hiring employees and paying back other investors.
While Gordon left a trail of destruction at Knox and elsewhere, with just $US900,000 paid back to victims, some like former NBA star Kemp remain supportive.
Former NBA stars Jack Sikma and John Lucas also wrote letters to the court in support.
"As you may know, I have engaged in a few business ventures with Steve and he currently owes me money," Kemp wrote in a letter to Judge Ricardo Martinez.
"However, at no time did I believe, nor do I currently believe, that Steve stole from me or misled me in anyway.
"I am also confident that some day Steve will make good on our deals."
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