Former Philadelphia Eagles running back Wendell Smallwood Jr. has pleaded guilty federal fraud charges after being accused of filing fraudulent tax returns and filing hundreds of thousands of dollars Aid programs for the COVID-19 pandemic.
The signed settlement was approved by a federal judge in Delaware on Friday. Smallwood, of Mullica Hill, New Jersey, faces sentencing in May on the three counts of fraud.
Smallwood’s lawyer, Mark Sheppard, he said The Philadelphia Inquirer that Smallwood appeared in court on Friday “and took full responsibility for his actions. He recognizes that this is only the first step in trying to begin to make amends with the government and those closest to him. He will continue to do so. like this.”
Smallwood, 30, was initially charged in October.
He filed false tax returns for himself and others in 2021 and 2022, getting refunds of about $110,000, prosecutors said.
He also used what prosecutors said were defunct or newly registered companies and provided false information about the scale of their operations, including start dates, revenue amounts, expenses and number of employees. Some were under his name, while others were under other people’s names.
In one scheme, Smallwood used false information when he applied for loans for three companies under his name in the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program. The U.S. Small Business Administration approved loans of just over $46,000, prosecutors said.
In a separate scheme, Smallwood submitted fraudulent applications on behalf of at least 13 other people for the Paycheck Protection Program, prosecutors said. A bank disbursed loans of nearly $270,000, from which Smallwood received kickbacks in exchange for preparing and submitting the applications, prosecutors said.
The Eagles drafted Smallwood out of West Virginia University in 2016. The Delaware native played three seasons for the Eagles before spending time over three more seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the team now known as the Washington Commanders.