Wendell Smallwood Jr., a former NFL running back who won a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles, has been charged with defrauding federal COVID-19 relief programsaccording to court documents.
Smallwood was charged with three felonies – wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service – and faces up to 50 years in prison.
According to court documents filed in the District of Delaware, federal prosecutors allege Smallwood defrauded government agencies by submitting false information to extract tens of thousands of dollars in payments to the companies he ran.
Federal prosecutors also accuse Smallwood of being involved in a kickback conspiracy to defraud COVID-19 relief programs and lying to tax authorities.
According to court documents, Smallwood applied for COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) in applications to the Small Business Administration using “defunct or newly registered businesses and purported false business operations.”
Court documents also allege that Smallwood provided false information to the Paycheck Protection Program and was involved in a tax fraud conspiracy.
The Eagles selected Smallwood in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL draft out of West Virginia University. He spent three seasons with Philadelphia and was on the roster, but did not play on the team’s 41-33 victory about the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 52.
Smallwood, a native of Wilmington, Delaware, also played with Washington and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He also spent time in the Jacksonville organization in 2021; he was signed to the team’s practice squad but never played for the Jaguars.
You can read the full criminal complaint below.
