Overview
- A federal judge sentenced CJ Evins to 72 months in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, a sentence handed down Tuesday and ordered to be served without the possibility of parole.
- Evins pleaded guilty in April and cooperated with investigators, a factor that reduced his sentence by about a year from federal guidelines but did not avoid prison time.
- Court filings and prosecutors say Evins and co-defendant Luther Davis used wigs, makeup, forged driver’s licenses, fake emails and bogus corporate paperwork during recorded virtual loan closings to pose as players and obtain nearly $20 million in loans.
- The scheme’s proceeds were spent on real estate and luxury purchases, and several NFL players whose names were misused now face credit and administrative recovery tasks to repair their records.
- Davis, described in filings as the scheme’s active perpetrator, is due to be sentenced in late October and prosecutors say the case highlights risks in remote closings that could push lenders to tighten identity checks and verification procedures.