Former NFL Player Turned Pastor, Irving Fryar, and 72-Y-O Mom Indicted in $690K Mortgage Scam
Former NFL player turned pastor, Irving Fryar, and his mother Allene McGhee, 72, were indicted by a grand jury in New Jersey on Wednesday for allegedly conspiring to steal more than $690,000 from five banks through a "sophisticated mortgage fraud scam."
According to the Associated Press, Fryar, 51, allegedly colluded with his mother by having her submit false information to secure five loans on her house over six days. The pair are charged with conspiracy and theft by deception.
Fryar is pastor of the New Jerusalem House of God in Mount Holly, N.J., which he founded. It is a church where the Holy Spirit "saves and saturates souls," according to a video on the church's website.
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The former wide receiver who played for four NFL teams, including the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots between 1984 and 2000, is also currently head coach of the Robbinsville High School football team where, according to ABC 6, he has since been suspended without pay.
"It's disappointing that someone with an illustrious career in professional sports who now is a minister and coach in the community is charged with this crime, but he must face justice like anyone else," Acting Attorney General John Hoffman told the AP.
Authorities reported that Fryar and his mother reported false job earnings on their loan applications.
His mother claimed she earned thousands of dollars a month as an event coordinator for Fryar's church while Fryar allegedly received or spent more than $200,000 of the fraudulently obtained loans.
"This is not a case in which Fryar and his mother simply omitted or misstated information on loan applications," said Hoffman. "This indictment alleges that they engaged in an elaborate criminal scheme that was designed to defraud these banks of hundreds of thousands of dollars."
The Christian Post reached out to Fryar's church for comment on Thursday but no one was available to speak on the issue.
