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.
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.
He and his co-defendant, CJ Evins, were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
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.
Federal prosecutors identified victims by the initials X.M., D.N. and M.P. and said they were “active professional football players in the National Football League,” according to the filings.
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.
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.
"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.
Instead, Davis "dressed in disguise and impersonated the players, providing fake identification documents to convince the notary," the documents said.
“The net loan proceeds were wired to a bank account” that the defendants controlled, according to the filings.
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.
An attorney for Davis did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
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.
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.
