Ex-Alabama tackle pleads guilty in $20M NFL player impersonation case

Davis faces up to seven years in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines. He has agreed to pay restitution. His sentencing has been scheduled for Oct. 8.

Davis and his attorney, Gabe Banks, declined to comment outside court Monday.

Prosecutors said Davis and Evins duped multiple lending companies out of millions of dollars by pretending to represent NFL players between May 2023 and October 2024. Davis wore wigs, makeup and “a durag-style head covering” to impersonate three players during separate video conferences to finalize loans in 2024, prosecutors said.

Evins, 29, also pleaded guilty Monday to single counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in a deal with prosecutors.

Prosecutor Brock Brockington said Davis and Evins created sham companies and bank and email accounts to make their scheme appear legitimate and obtained fake identification in NFL players’ names, including fake Georgia and Florida driver’s licenses.

Davis and Evins fraudulently got 13 loans totaling $19.8 million and used the money to buy real estate, vehicles and jewelry, Brockington said.

Davis told U.S. District Judge Steven Grimberg that he is currently unemployed.

Banks said Davis has “a severe learning disability” but is competent to plead guilty.

Brockington said none of the “unsuspecting” professional athletes that Davis and Evins impersonated or purported to represent benefited from the scheme.

“As the degree of difficulty of the scheme increased, Mr. Davis and Mr. Evins began to seek seven-figure loans,” Brockington said. “Mr. Davis donned makeup and wigs to impersonate at least three different players.”

Evins also initially pleaded not guilty when charged in March and was granted bond. Prosecutors are seeking forfeiture of a residential property near Cleveland, Ohio, and a Cartier watch in Evins’ case. Evins told the judge he works in real estate.

Prosecutors identified the NFL players involved in each scheme only by their initials in court documents.

According to the charges, in January 2024, Davis wore a wig and makeup to impersonate an NFL player at The Hotel at Avalon in Alpharetta, where he secured just over $4 million in a loan with a Florida lender called Aliya Sports Finance.

Prosecutors said Davis used a fake Georgia driver’s license that had a number associated with a female Savannah resident and a photo of the player that was “easily found online,” though the player did not have a Georgia driver’s license.

In late March 2024, Davis flew from Atlanta to New York, where he wore a wig to impersonate a second NFL player on a video conference at the Ritz-Carlton, prosecutors said. They said Davis got $4.3 million from Aliya Sports Finance in that deal, for which he used another fake Georgia driver’s license.

In July 2024, Davis impersonated a third NFL player by wearing “a durag-style head covering” during a virtual loan closing at SpringHill Suites in Buford, prosecutors said. They said Davis got $3.3 million from All Pro Capital Funding, an Annapolis lender, using a fake Florida driver’s license.

None of the NFL players authorized Davis or Evins to represent them and were unaware of the loans in their names, prosecutors said. They said Davis and Evins used fraudulent documents, including fabricated bank statements, to convince lenders and associated brokers of their affiliation with NFL players.

Prosecutors seized more than $600,000 from a bank account in connection with Davis’ case, court records show.