10:42 am
A Jackson State football player was arrested by federal authorities on Monday and is accused of scheming to fraudulently obtain hundreds of thousands of dollars in unemployment benefits.
The scheme was masterminded by Abdul-Malik McClain while he was at USC. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in the District Court in Los Angeles on Monday. He was released on a $20,000 bond and will be back in court in February.
Jackson State received a transfer from a Rancho Santa Margarita, California, native. His name is not on the athletic department's website.
According to the indictment, McCanly helped a group of football players file fraudulent claims for unemployment benefits under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program established by Congress in response to the economic downturn. The football players' claims contained false information about their prior employment, as well as their job-seeking efforts, according to the indictment.
At least three dozen fraudulent applications for relief were submitted that sought at least $903,000 in benefits, and at least $227,736 was paid out, according to the indictment.
In October 2020, it was reported that the brother of McClain had been suspended by USC for his role in the alleged scheme. According to the Los Angeles Times, Munir acknowledged that he applied for financial relief from the PUA program but was under the impression that he qualified because his source of income had dried up.
The wide receiver transferred to Utah and played in two games this season.
The football players were allowed by the government to use Bank of America's debit cards to make cash withdrawals to fund their personal expenses, according to a Justice Department release. The government alleges that Abdul-Malik McClain got a cut for helping others file fraudulent applications.
According to the Justice Department release, McCaln and his co-schemers filed applications in their own names, in the names of other friends and associates, and in the names of identity theft victims. The claims were false that self-employed workers, including athletic trainers and tutors, lost work in California as a result of the Pandemic, according to the indictment.
The maximum sentence for each mail fraud count is 20 years in federal prison. The mail fraud counts carry a two-year mandatory prison sentence, and the identity theft counts carry a two-year mandatory prison sentence.
The government didn't name the university or any other players that might be under investigation.
Kyle Bonagura contributed to the report.
