Man, woman accused of $3.5M scam impersonating NBA, NFL players
Man, woman accused of $3.5M scam impersonating NBA, NFL players
Fernando Cervantes Jr., USA TODAYFri, May 1, 2026 at 11:39 PM UTC
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A man and woman were recently indicted in connection with a multimillion-dollar scheme, in which federal prosecutors allege they posed as professional athletes and took out loans in the players' names.
Albert Paul Weber, 42, and Cyntrelle Lash, 39, were arrested for allegedly impersonating athletes who were "on the cusp of being drafted by NBA and NFL teams and paid multimillion-dollar contracts," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
The scheme, beginning as early as 2016, involved the two and their unidentified coconspirators stealing the identities of professional athletes, their family members and others to defraud "businesspeople and lenders who believed they were dealing with the athletes themselves," the federal prosecutors allege.
According to court records obtained by USA TODAY, the couple is alleged to have laundered about $3.5 million through multiple bank accounts.
On April 24, Weber and Lash were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Weber also faces an additional six counts of aggravated identity theft and one count of interstate transmission of a threat.
Lash, on the other hand, faces an additional count of aggravated identity theft.
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According to the U.S. attorney's office, each of the aggravated identity theft charges carries a mandatory two-year prison sentence, and the threat charge carries up to five years in prison. Apart from the potential prison sentences, both also face fines of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In an emailed statement to USA TODAY, Weber's public defender said her client had "entered a not guilty plea to the charges."
When were Weber, Lash arrested?
The two were arrested by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office in May 2025 after police said they used fake IDs to sign loan documents using an athlete's name, but were released on bond, federal prosecutors said.
Following that incident, Weber allegedly tried to launch another scheme involving him offering basketball players overseas trips. The catch? He is accused of keeping the money for the trips that never happened, the U.S. attorney's office said.
When Weber’s victims confronted him over the lost money, Weber is alleged to have threatened them, demanding more money and to stay quiet, according to federal prosecutors.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Man, woman accused of $3.5M scam impersonating NBA, NFL players
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