This latest wave of increasing COVID cases has caused not only major sports leagues to take even more extreme precautions, but colleges and universities are feeling the pressure to crack down, as well. Amid conversation regarding the University of Southern California reportedly suspending their basketball season during this COVID outbreak, news about the school's former football star has also surfaced, and it isn't favorable.
According to NBC News Los Angeles, former USC linebacker, 22-year-old Abdul-Malik McClain, was taken into custody yesterday (December 21) after authorities claimed he was the leader of a "scheme that fraudulently sought hundreds of thousands of dollars in COVID-related unemployment benefits."
Investigators state that this is one of many types of scams that have occurred during the pandemic, including those related to PPP Loan fraud. McClain isn't the only person implicated in this alleged scheme, either—authorities say that while McClain was the person who allegedly orchestrated the plot, he had other football players who followed in his footsteps.
Prosecutors allege that, while a member of the team, McClain organized and assisted a group of other players in filing fraudulent claims for unemployment benefits, including under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program established by Congress in response to the pandemic's economic fallout.
It has been alleged that the players falsified documents with information about their "supposed prior employment, pandemic-related job loss, and job-seeking efforts in California, according to federal prosecutors." The benefits program reportedly sent them Bank of America debit cards for assistance that included hundreds to thousands of dollars. The money was reportedly withdrawn from ATMs and used "to fund personal expenses."
McClain also stands accused of helping players fill out fraudulent forms in order to receive a percentage of the money that was given through the benefit program. In total, "at least three dozen fraudulent applications" were linked to McClain for a request of $903K, but in the end, they only received $227K.
USC reportedly issued a statement saying they were first made aware of the situation in September 2020 and have cooperated with investigators since that time. McClain has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and posted his $20K bond. His trial is reportedly slated to begin on February 15.
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