A former University of Alabama football player donned makeup and wigs during an elaborate multimillion-dollar fraud scheme in which he secured loans pretending to be NFL players, federal authorities said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luther Davis has indicated he will plead guilty at a hearing before U.S. District Judge Steven D. Grimberg in Atlanta on April 27, according to a court calendar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He and his co-defendant, CJ Evins, were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From around May 2023 to October 2024, Davis and Evins “executed a scheme to fraudulently obtain millions of dollars in loans from multiple lenders” by “impersonating professional football players and falsely claiming those players were seeking multi-million dollar loans,” according to federal court documents filed against them last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Federal prosecutors identified victims by the initials X.M., D.N. and M.P. and said they were \u201cactive professional football players in the National Football League,\u201d according to the filings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After Davis and Evins told victims they represented the NFL players, lenders eventually needed to meet with the prospective borrowers via video conference, authorities alleged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Davis wore makeup, a wig or another head covering in the video meetings to show he was the player who needed the loan, the filings say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Unbeknownst to the broker and the lender, none of the players who were supposedly receiving the loans attended any of these closings,” according to the filings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead, Davis “dressed in disguise and impersonated the players, providing fake identification documents to convince the notary,” the documents said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe net loan proceeds were wired to a bank account\u201d that the defendants controlled, according to the filings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The two obtained more than $19.8 million from 13 fraudulent loans and used the proceeds to buy real estate, vehicles and jewelry, the filings say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An attorney for Davis did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Evins also intends to plead guilty before Grimberg this month, court records show. His attorney, Benjamin Black Alper, confirmed the scheduled plea and had no further comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Davis was a defensive lineman for the undefeated, championship 2009 Crimson Tide squad and made 47 tackles during a four-season career from 2007 to 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n