Packers Safety Xavier McKinney at training camp - Photo by Evan Siegle/Green Bay Packers
GREEN BAY, WI (WSAU) – One of the suspects who attempted to impersonate NFL players to obtain millions of dollars in fraudulent loans has been sentenced to prison.
According to ESPN, 29-year-old CJ Evins was sentenced by a federal judge on Tuesday to six years in prison on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft after working to obtain nearly $20 million in fraudulent loans. Some of the players he and his co-defendant pretended to be included Packers safety Xavier McKinney, Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr and Chargers tight end David Njoku.
Evins’ attorney states that his client pled guilty to the charges in April and received a sentence less than federal guidelines require for these types of charges.
U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg provided the outlet with a statement saying, “Evins’s sentence, which must be served without the possibility of parole, sends a message to those who would consider impersonating someone, whether Pro or Joe, to perpetrate fraud: you will be prosecuted, and you will go to prison.”
Evins’ co-defendant, former Alabama defensive tackle Luther Davis, was described as “the mastermind and primary instigator” of the scheme by Evins’ attorney and often used forged driver’s licenses, wigs, and makeup to dress up as the players in the virtual loan meetings. He is scheduled to be sentenced in a Georgia federal court on October 29th.
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