An Ohio man has been indicted by a federal grand jury after defrauding multiple NFL players out of almost $25,000 earmarked for charitable causes.
Camario Richardson, 38, of Maple Heights, was charged in a five-count indictment in Kansas City, Missouri on September 13. He was arrested in Ohio on October 13 and is expected to appear in the court in the Northern District of Ohio on October 30.
Richardson is charged with one count of mail fraud and four counts of wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney's office in the Western District of Missouri.
According to the indictment, Richardson claimed to have contacts with Nike and agreed to deliver Nike-branded merchandise to five NFL players, none of whom are identified.
Richardson allegedly promised to deliver Nike-branded backpacks for a "Book Bag Giveaway" charitable event for children who needed a school backpack at the start of the 2016 school year.
A Kansas City Chief player allegedly paid Richardson $6000 for 300 backpacks in April, which the athlete never received. In June, Richardson reportedly took $6,480 each from a Tampa Bay Buccaneers player and an Indianapolis Colts player and also promised them 300 backpacks each, which he failed to deliver. Richardson also promised 200 backpacks to a Cincinnati Bengals player in exchange for $4,320, according to officials. These backpacks were also never delivered. In March, he allegedly took $1,500 from a San Diego Chargers player for athletic shoes that he never delivered.
Richardson's fraud scheme equaled a total loss of about $24,780.
The charges in the indictment are only accusations at this point.
