Former business partner of Auburn coach Tuberville pleads guilty

OPELIKA, Ala. (AP) — A one-time business partner of former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville has pleaded guilty in a financial fraud. The Opelika-Auburn News reports 42-year-old John David Stroud of Auburn entered the plea on Friday. Stroud was accused of defrauding investors out of millions of dollars between 2008 and 2012. Tuberville was not charged. But a federal lawsuit over the fraud allegations names both Stroud and Tuberville, and a trial date is set for Oct. 15. Stroud and Tuberville were partners in a number of Auburn-area investment companies. The lawsuit alleges that a hedge fund Tuberville helped manage defrauded clients of more than $1.7 million. A lawyer for Tuberville has denied claims of wrongdoing. Tuberville now coaches at Cincinnati, and he previously worked at Texas Tech.