Former NFL Player Pleads Guilty to Tax, PPP Fraud
Former NFL player Wendell Lynn Smallwood has pleaded guilty to tax and Paycheck Protection Program fraud charges. He faces up to five decades in prison. Photo credit: Delaware police.
Smallwood is scheduled to be sentenced on May 2, 2025, according to his sentencing order. According to his plea agreement, he faces up to 50 years in prison for his admitted crimes.
Smallwood played professional football in the NFL from May 4, 2016, to Jan. 9, 2022, according to the Information document. The teams Smallwood played for were the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Philadelphia Eagles, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Washington Commanders.
Small Business Administration Loans
Smallwood created a limited liability company on April 28, 2017, named Smallwood Sports Management, using a commercial address not affiliated with the company, according to information documents. On Nov. 5, 2018, Smallwood created another LLC, Taste Buds by Smallwood’s LLC, which he registered at a residential address. Smallwood then created Smallwood Enterprise Properties on July 22, 2020.
In May 2020, Smallwood began submitting loan applications to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) agency through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program that was utilized to help keep business afloat during COVID-19, according to information documents.
The loan applications that Smallwood submitted to the EIDL program contained false information about Smallwood’s companies, including the start dates of the businesses, the number of employees, the cost of goods and the gross revenues, according to the information document.
On May 14, 2020, Smallwood claimed that Smallwood Sports grossed $100,000 but spent $65,000 on goods, earning his business $15,500 from SBA, according to the information documents. On June 26, 2020, Smallwood opened a business bank account for Smallwood Sports. Smallwood received the money on July 14, 2020, and within a few days, he got about $8,000 in cash from ATMs in New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania.
On July 26, 2020, Smallwood claimed that his Taste Bubs company grossed $97,000, spent $35,000 and had 11 employees, according to the information document. He received a $30,900 loan from SBA. Smallwood opened a business bank account for Taste Buds on July 27, 2020.
Issued Loans Based on False Information
Based on the false information, SBA approved the EIDL loans for his Smallwood Sports and Taste Buds companies, allowing him to get $46,400, according to information documents. In September 2020, Smallwood opened a business account for Smallwood Properties and submitted five applications to the EIDL program between Sept. 10, 2020, and June 27, 2021. All five Smallwood Properties applications were denied.
Between March and May 2021, Smallwood worked with others to apply for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, resulting in a financial institution approving thirteen PPP loans for $269,150 based on false information on the application, including the company’s gross and expenses, according to the information documents.
While filing taxes for 2021 and 2022, Smallwood had multiple people file fake 1040 forms, resulting in a refund of at least $110,196 from the IRS, according to information documents.
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