A former Alabama Crimson Tide football player from the 2009 national championship team is now involved in a major federal fraud case. The case includes claims of fake IDs, wigs, makeup and millions of dollars in loans taken using the names of NFL players.
Who is Luther Davis?
Luther Davis is from West Monroe, Louisiana. He was part of Nick Saban’s first signing class at Alabama in 2007. He was also a US Army All-American and played 45 games as a defensive lineman over four seasons.
After college, he started a sports management company in Georgia. But his name had come up in the past as well. In 2013, Yahoo Sports reported that he was seen as a “runner” for agents and advisers trying to send money to SEC recruits, including DJ Fluker.
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What he is accused of
According to court documents obtained by AL.com and first reported by The Guardian, charges were filed against Davis on March 19 in Atlanta.
He is facing two felony charge, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Prosecutors say Davis worked with CJ Evins to carry out the scheme. They are accused of taking out 13 fake loans worth more than $19,845,000.
The identities used in the scheme include Michael Penix Jr, David Njoku and Xavier McKinney, according to CBS News.
How they carried out the scheme
According to court documents, Luther Davis and CJ Evins used wigs, makeup and fake IDs to pretend to be NFL players during online loan meetings. The players did not know about this and did not give permission.
Davis is also accused of using photos of players from the internet. In one case, he wore a “durag-style head covering” to act like Michael Penix Jr, according to The Guardian.
Federal prosecutors explained the scheme clearly. “Beginning no later than in or around May 2023 and continuing through in or about October 2024, the defendant, Luther Davis, and CJ Evins, executed a scheme to fraudulently obtain millions of dollars in loans from multiple lenders, including, but not limited to, Aliya Sports and All Pro Capital Funding, by impersonating professional football players and falsely claiming those players were seeking multi-million dollar loans,” prosecutors said, per The Guardian.
The court filings say the scheme had several steps. Davis and Evins allegedly created companies with names similar to NFL players, then opened bank accounts and made fake email IDs in those names. They also got fake IDs, including driver’s licenses and shared fake financial documents with loan brokers.
Davis would then join online loan meetings pretending to be the players, using disguises to convince others.
“Unbeknownst to the broker and the lender, none of the players who were supposedly receiving the loans attended any of these closings,” the filing said. “Rather, defendant Davis dressed in disguise and impersonated the players, providing fake identification documents to convince the notary.”
The documents also give examples. In one case linked to David Njoku, Davis allegedly wore makeup and a wig and showed a fake ID. In another case involving Xavier McKinney, he used a fake license with a made-up number. In a case linked to Michael Penix Jr, he wore a durag and used a fake Florida driver’s license.
According to Reuters, Davis is expected to plead guilty in the case. The hearing is set for April 27.
