A 2021 study showed that professional athletes have reported nearly $600 million in losses over the last 15 years due to fraud-related incidents. But such phishing cases have not stopped. In 2019, Kwamaine Jerell Ford, 34, of Buford, Georgia, spent nearly $325,000 using stolen financial information through computer fraud and aggravated identity theft.

He was convicted in March 2019. Seven years later, the same person has not just failed to learn from his previous mistakes but has escalated his approaches. Following this, the NFLPA has stepped up with a warning to all professional athletes and their agents.

“The FBI has advised that Kwamaine Jerell Ford, posing as a female adult film star, lured athletes into providing sensitive information,” the NFLPA’s Thursday notice said.

“This individual was supposedly able to access many athletes’ iCloud accounts and stole victim information, including credit cards. Additionally, this individual, posing as an adult film star, lured athletes into having s– with an adult female OnlyFans creator, being filmed without their knowledge or consent.”

All NFLPA-certified agents were shared a link necessary to determine whether the player was indeed a victim. Any player who thinks he may have been targeted by this scam should contact his agent, the NFLPA or the FBI, which is currently trying to identify the victims of the scam.

According to the Department of Justice, the most recent scheme began in November 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ford was still in the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ custody when he allegedly obtained login credentials for Apple accounts of at least a dozen NBA and NFL players through a two-pronged approach…

Allegedly, he first posed online as a well-known adult film star, Teanna Trump, and offered to send s——- explicit videos to his victims. He was simultaneously accessing legitimate Apple customer service accounts and posing as an Apple customer support representative. And here’s how he strategized his fraud:

He would send videos to the victims through his fraudulent adult film star persona. But to access those, the players would have to share their username, password, and/or Multi-Factor Authentication codes, which he would request as an Apple representative via text messages, hence tricking them. Ford would then allegedly obtain credit and debit card information belonging to victims and use that information to pay for thousands of dollars in personal spending. His planning for the phishing scheme didn’t end here.

According to the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, Ford “recruited, tricked, and coerced a female victim into engaging in commercial s– acts with the professional athletes,” using the adult film star persona while also using other false identities to threaten the victim.

Ford has been charged with nine counts of wire fraud, seven counts of computer fraud, one count of access device fraud, four counts of aggravated identity theft, and one count of human trafficking. Ford has declined all 22 charges but stays in custody awaiting trial as per March 13’s order by a US Magistrate Judge.

“Kwamaine Ford clearly did not learn from his prior conviction for a similar scheme,” Peter Ellis, FBI Georgia Acting Special Agent in Charge, said. “This time, he allegedly escalated his criminal activity – stealing identities and money while also moving into coercion and s-x t——ing.”

This wouldn’t be the first recent case where professional athletes have been victimized by such frauds.

Professional athletes continue to be the target of scammers

Many studies show the pattern usually includes professional athletes as they come across the big amount of money soon after leaving their colleges. Since their average career length is around 4.5 years, they try to invest their money for a better future or they would fall bankrupt. But without a knowledgeable and reliable person leading them, they usually fall for the confident and ‘confident’ scammers. Many cases also include athletes falling victims of identity thefts like these:

In 2021, lbert Weber, 42, and Cyntrelle Lash, 39, faced charges of identity theft, bank fraud and forgery. They created a number of false identities and fraudulently obtained a quarter of a million dollars’ worth of loans in the name of Tennessee Titans’ quarterback Cam Ward.

In October 2020, Trevontae Washington of Louisiana and Ronnie Magrehbi of Florida allegedly gained access to professional athletes’ social media account. They then either sold the information or used it to extort payments, according to federal criminal complaints.

A week ago, former Kansas City Chiefs player Justin Reid also warned his fellow players of such scam rings targeting NFL and NBA players.

“If you are an athlete and someone comes to you saying they want you to invest in or represent a SPAC, and they are specifically targeting athletes bc of “X, Y, Z”… RUN AWAY!!!!!” Reid shared a detailed message on X. “This is a scam where they are manipulating you to invest your money and TAKE A CUT before the investment ever happens.

“They get paid regardless, even after the SPAC very likely will flop. They are using you, and you are quite literally paying the price.”

While protecting players has clearly become about more than just contracts, the NFLPA made this decision to raise awareness about individuals like Ford after a significant change in its leadership group.

NFLPA announces new executive director for player representation

Player representatives for the NFL Players Association have elected retired Cleveland Browns offensive lineman JC Tretter as their next executive director, the union announced earlier this month. Alongside his NFL career, Tretter previously held the position of union chief strategy officer and hence brings much-needed experience.

“I understand the responsibility that comes with this role and how important it is to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with player leadership,” Tretter said in a statement posted to X. “This union has always played a critical role in shaping the game, and that work is as important now as it’s ever been.”

The NFLPA has been searching for a permanent leader since July, when the then-executive director Lloyd Howell Jr. had to resign after ESPN reported that he had charged a pair of strip club visits to the union. However, now with JC Tretter, the NFLPA hopes to improve its own image and also continue to represent its players in the best way possible. Meanwhile, the FBI and the league will continue to protect its players from becoming targets to frauds.