Former Alabama player pleads guilty after using wigs and makeup to impersonate NFL players in $20M fraud scheme

Former University of Alabama defensive tackle Luther Davis, 37, figured that if you can’t beat them nor join them — you can just fake it. He was recently arrested and pleaded guilty to committing wire fraud and identity theft of NFL stars, amassing almost $20m from his unsuspecting victims.

We live in an age where the advent of photorealistic AI renderings and an extremely polarized political landscape means identity theft scams are on the rise. After all, an effective scam requires someone to emotionally get attached to the fake story. But for Luther Davis, there was no technology involved — it was just makeup and wigs.

According to HuffPost, Davis had a co-defendant, CJ Evins, 29, who was credited with orchestrating the scheme from May 2023 to Oct. 2024, during which they were able to secure 13 fraudulent loans amounting to $19.845m. The two then went on to use the money on real estate, jewelry, cars, and other luxury personal effects.

Davis and Evins would create corporations coupled with fake documents that possessed forged IDs with official NFL photos. The first step of the plan was to pretend that they were representatives of whichever NFL player they were currently targeting for identity fraud. They would then approach investors or specialized lenders in the sports finance space and plead their case.

From that point on, that’s where the costumes came in. A key element in finally securing these loans was a series of video calls from the financial institutions to the actual player for verification. But since the contact details were given by Davis and Evins themselves, these calls were expected and immaculately planned for. Davis would drape himself in wigs and use elaborate makeup to alter his appearance.

In one notable scam, Davis took a video call from an upscale Atlanta hotel wearing nothing but a makeshift wig and ended up securing a $4m loan. Reportedly, the two were successful in impersonating several NFL stars, including Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr., former Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku, and Green Bay Packers safety Xavier McKinney.

U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg emphasized: “Using fake documents, bogus corporations, wigs, and makeup, Davis and Evins convinced lenders they were NFL players… This scheme highlights that anyone can be a target of identity theft.” Wire fraud can carry up to 20–30 years depending on the specifics and the amounts lost — that’s if you don’t somehow get pardoned, which is a real possibility these days.

Davis, perhaps seeing all the evidence against him and wanting to get ahead of things and encourage leniency, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of identity fraud. Evins also followed suit and pleaded the same.

There have been no official reports from the NFL players on whether they suffered actual financial harm beyond identity fraud. This will end up playing a huge role in how long Evins and Davis are ultimately sentenced.

The judge was right — in this day and age, financial crimes are destined to get more complex.