A former Alabama Crimson Tide defensive end is charged with impersonating Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. to take out a $3.3 million loan.
Luther Davis is accused of impersonating three NFL players to apply for millions of dollars in loans.
Police say Davis wore wigs and used fake driver’s licenses to apply for loans as Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku and Green Bay Packers safety Xavier McKinney.
Prosecutors say Davis ran a $20 million fraud scheme from May 2023 to October 2024.
“The court documents state that none of the players had authorized the loans and that fake email accounts were created without their knowledge,” wrote ESPN’s Michael Rothstein.
Rothstein wrote Thursday that Davis and his partner, CJ Evins, went to great lengths to impersonate the Falcons quarterback and the other two players.
Court documents filed in Atlanta on March 19, alleges that Davis and Evins registered companies similar to the names of the three players.”
“To convince lenders they were the three players, the court documents allege that Davis and Evins ‘fabricated personal financial statements, Secretary of State documents, and bank statements for companies purportedly operated by the players,'” added Rothstein.
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Davis applied for 13 bank loans for more than $19.8 million.
In March the FBI announced an imposter posed as McKinney and took out a $4.375 million loan.
The lender, Aliya Sports Finance Fund, is suing broker Sure Sports for failing to do its due diligence before introducing the imposter to the lender.
The NFL Players Association recently warned NFL players and sports agents, following the arrest of Kwamaine Jerrell Ford for allegedly posing as a female adult film star to scam NBA and NFL athletes.
