Former Alabama star allegedly impersonated NFL’s Penix, Njoku and McKinney in $20m loan scam

A former University of Alabama national champion plans to plead guilty later this month to orchestrating an alleged scheme in which he impersonated NFL players and defrauded lenders out of nearly $20m. The alleged scam is described in detail by the US attorney for the northern district of Georgia, including depictions of the former defensive lineman donning disguises during loan closings.Luther Davis, a member of the Alabama football team that won the 2010 national championship game, along with a partner, CJ Evins, “obtained at least thirteen fraudulent loans totaling more than $19,845,000”, the criminal information filing alleges. A criminal information (CI) document is filed by a US attorney when a defendant agrees to waive the constitutional right to indictment by a grand jury and instead proceed by typically entering a guilty plea; both Davis and Evins are doing so according to the court docket.The lawyers listed for Davis and Evins in court filings did not reply for comment.The CI filing does not list all of the 13 loans, but only three totalling $11.6m with the initials of the NFL player who was allegedly impersonated. The US prosecutor’s office for the northern district of Georgia declined to comment.Davis and Evins impersonated a player that the CI document identified by his initial D.N. in securing a $4.025m loan from Aliya Sports, a fund that lends to athletes, that was brokered by Sure Sports. That player is former Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku, sources said.A second scam loan is identified in the CI filing as also from Aliya for $4.35m to a player with the initials XM. That player is Green Bay’s Xavier McKinney. The Guardian wrote about that case in March.The third loan cited in the CI filing is a $3.3m one through All Pro Capital Funding, also arranged by Sure Sports for a player with the initial MP. Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr is the NFL player impersonated in that case, sources said.The players are not connected in any way to the alleged scheme, other than by having their identities stolen.“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,” federal prosecutors charged.The alleged scheme involved several stages. First, Davis and Evins would register at the Georgia secretary of state companies with names closely related to the impersonated player’s name or initials, the CI filing said. They would allegedly open bank accounts for these fake companies, and then create fraudulent email accounts that were purportedly used by the players they were impersonating.They then obtained fake identification documents in the names of the players, including driver’s licenses, the filing outlined. It was at this point they would contact loan brokers. The duo allegedly provided fraudulent documents to these brokers, including fabricated personal financial statements, secretary of state documents and bank statements for companies purportedly operated by the players. To complete the subterfuge, Davis appeared at virtual loan closings disguised as the athlete they were impersonating, often wearing a wig.“Unbeknownst to the broker and the lender, none of the players who were supposedly receiving the loans attended any of these closings,” the CI filing read. “Rather, defendant Davis dressed in disguise and impersonated the players, providing fake identification documents to convince the notary.”At a 22 January 2024 virtual closing of the fake Njoku loan, Davis wore makeup and a wig, prosecutors claim. When the notary asked him for ID, he provided a fake Georgia driver’s license featuring a picture of Njoku with a number that is associated with a woman from Savannah, Georgia, the CI filing describes.For the McKinney closing on 31 March 2024, Davis wore a wig and provided the notary a fake driver’s license with a made-up number, according to the CI filing. And for the fake Penix closing on 25 July 2024, Davis wore a durag and provided a fake Florida driver’s license, according to the CI filing. Penix is often seen wearing a durag on the sidelines during NFL games.Njoku is also listed in a different court filing as having had his identity stolen for a similar scheme. In a November 2025 Indiana federal lawsuit, First Farmers Bank & Trust Co sued an insurer for not covering a fraudulent $5.265m loan it extended to a person the bank thought was Njoku. As was the case with the three loans outlined in the CI filing, this loan was also brokered by Sure Sports, according to First Farmers.“First Farmers subsequently discovered through an email from FBI Special Agent Christopher Maul, dated January 14, 2025, that the Loan Documents had not been signed by the actual professional football player, David Njoku, but by someone impersonating him, who had used a fake driver’s license during the Loan closing,” the bank wrote in its lawsuit.It’s unclear if this loan is one of the 13 mentioned in the CI document, though the fraud steps outlined in the bank lawsuit match up with the Georgia cases.According to the northern district of Georgia court docket, both Evins and Davis have notified the court that the “defendant intends to enter a plea of guilty.” A plea hearing is scheduled for 27 April. They are charged with aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, the latter of which can carry a sentence of up to 20 years in jail.Davis’s partner in the alleged crimes, Evins, is described in the court filing as the “founder and operator of Deed Chasers LLC, a company registered in the State of Georgia. Deed Chasers LLC served as the registered agent for companies that appeared to be associated with certain professional football players.”Davis was one of Nick Saban’s first big recruits during the coach’s time at Alabama. Davis had initially committed to Louisiana State coming out of high school but backed out of the agreement to join Alabama. He played for the Crimson Tide for four years, including all 14 games in the season that culminated in them beating Texas in the national championship game in January 2010. Aliya Sports said it had no further comment on this article. Sure Sports did not reply to a request for comment.