The mutual trust between David and the sponsors was unassailable — enough to even navigate a snafu that could have derailed his entire scheme. When Golden 1 remitted its first scheduled annual payment, it did so to SSP — not the Kings. Like a bank thief tossing away a dye pack, David reached out to Golden 1 and explained that SSP was the account reserved for finalizing construction of the arena. He promptly returned the $6 million and instructed Golden 1 to wire the funds to the Kings’ primary account. “I knew how the Kings operated,” David says. “I knew how these other companies operated. We had an arrangement and we agreed upon it, then everyone moved on.” Less than four years after siphoning off $30,000 in courtside signage, David had now stolen $13.4 million from the Kings and their top corporate partners.