Former Alabama Crimson Tide defensive tackle Luther Davis pleaded guilty on Monday to defrauding investors by impersonating NFL players.
Davis, 37, entered guilty pleas in federal court in Atlanta to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges. CJ Evins, 29, who was accused of executing the scheme with Davis, also pleaded guilty to the two charges.
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The men used fake bank accounts and email accounts to convince lenders they were either acting on behalf of professional athletes or were the athletes themselves, Assistant U.S. Attorney C. Brock Brockington said in court. They also sought to impersonate higher-profile players with bigger contracts, he said.
Davis wore disguises on multiple video calls with potential investors in 2024 and pretended to be three different NFL players. Davis wore makeup and a wig once, a wig a second time and a do-rag style head covering on a third call, according to prosecutors.
The fraud scheme netted $20 million from fraudulent loans that Davis and Evins used to buy real estate, jewelry and cars, according to the complaint. Security for a players’ union learned that fraudulent player contracts had been used as collateral, Brockington said.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta filed a criminal complaint against Davis and Evins last month.
Davis and Evins both had no comment as they left court.
Davis was a part of the Crimson Tide’s national championship team in 2010.
Yahoo Sports reported in 2013 that Davis was allegedly acting as an intermediary between college football stars and NFL agents and financial advisers. Davis declined to comment on the report at the time.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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