Father of former UCLA basketball star faces federal bank fraud, conspiracy charges

Ronald Holmes, father of former UCLA basketball star Shabazz Muhammad, was indicted Thursday on federal bank fraud and conspiracy charges.

Holmes’ address listed in the federal indictment matches one given by the family in a Dream Vision traveling basketball team program.

Muhammad and his younger brother, Rashad, both played for Dream Vision, an Amateur Athletic Union team.

The indictment states that Holmes and his partners obtained “mortgage loans by fraudulent means to buy houses,” from 2006 to 2009.

The U.S. attorney’s office is seeking to recover $2.5 million from Holmes. Shabazz, 20, played one year at UCLA before declaring for the NBA draft. UCLA recruited him while he played for Bishop Gorman High School. Rashad, 18, who also played for Bishop Gorman, will attend San Jose State on a basketball scholarship in the fall.

According to the court documents, Holmes is being detained pending a detention hearing.

This is an all too familiar path for Holmes.

In 1999, he pleaded guilty to using fraudulent bank statements in order to obtain mortgages. The plea agreement noted that Holmes paid a restitution fee of approximately $78,000 to banks and credit unions that he committed the crimes against.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Holmes admitted he lied about Shabazz’s age, claiming he was 19 when he was indeed 20.

Review-Journal writer Rochel Leah Goldblatt contributed to this story.

Contact reporter Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638. Follow him on twitter @clochhead44.