Former Philadelphia Eagles player Wendell Smallwood Jr. has pleaded guilty federal fraud charges He was accused of submitting hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent tax returns and applications COVID-19 Pandemic Assistance Program,
The signed plea agreement was approved by a federal judge in Delaware on Friday. Smallwood, of Mullica Hill, New Jersey, faces sentencing in May on three fraud charges.
Smallwood's attorney, Mark Sheppard, told The Philadelphia Inquirer said Smallwood appeared in court Friday “and clearly took full responsibility for his actions. He believes this is the first step toward making amends to the government and those close to him. He will continue to do so.” . so.”
Smallwood, 30, was originally charged in October.
Prosecutors said he filed false tax returns for himself and others in 2021 and 2022 and received nearly $110,000 in refunds for himself.
They also used what prosecutors called closed or recently registered businesses and provided false information about the scale of their operations, such as start dates, revenue amounts, expenses, and number of employees. Some were in his name, while some were in the names of other people.
In one scheme, Smallwood used false information when applying to the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program for loans for three businesses under his name. Prosecutors said the U.S. Small Business Administration approved loans worth more than $46,000.
In a separate scheme, Smallwood submitted fraudulent applications for the Paycheck Protection Program in the names of at least 13 other people, prosecutors said. Prosecutors said a bank distributed loans amounting to approximately $270,000, of which Smallwood received kickbacks in exchange for preparing and submitting the application.
The Eagles signed Smallwood out of West Virginia University in 2016. The Delaware native played three seasons for the Eagles before spending three more seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the team now known as the Washington Commanders.