Dallas Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith is hitting back at those who claim he and his business partners were involved in a $2.5 million fraud scheme. He is also asking a judge to sanction the people who made the claims about his involvement in the alleged scam.
Emmitt Smith, the NFL’s all-time leading rusher, was sued in August by a Native American investment group that has claimed that he and his business partners embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars meant for a solar energy project in Texas.
The Hall of Famer wants the case dismissed and wants sanctions imposed on the investment group and their attorneys for comparing the situation to a Ponzi scheme.
Emmitt Smith Says $2.5 Million Solar Project Was Simply A Failed Business Deal
Smith is accused of defrauding a Native American investment group out of $2.5 million in connection with a proposed solar farm called Project Exodus.
Kituwah LLC, the investment arm of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, claims that Emmitt Smith, his business partner David Mosley, and their company, 4 13 Solutions Inc., convinced them to provide a $2.5 million loan in September 2023 to develop the solar farm. Instead, the project never materialized, and Kituwah claims it has “not recovered a penny” of its money.
The lawsuit claims the funding was misdirected and used to pay off another firm, Wilson Holdings, rather than fund the development of a solar farm in Texas. “It basically became a Ponzi scheme,” said Kituwah.
According to Front Office Sports, Emmitt Smith and his business partners disagree. They filed a response to the lawsuit on October 9, arguing that the accusations are false.
Smith’s lawyers claim that everyone involved understood that it was a risky plan that relied on obtaining further funding from the U.S. Department of Energy. “They embarked upon an ambitious scheme, which did not deliver,” the filing claims.
Emmitt Smith Wants His Accusers Punished
Emmitt Smith and his business partners are asking a Delaware court to dismiss the lawsuit permanently, award them legal costs, and impose sanctions on Kituwah and its attorneys.
“The reference to a ‘Ponzi scheme‘ is unsupported by any facts and made in bad faith,” the filing states. “Plaintiff and its counsel should be sanctioned for knowingly making a false statement that accuses the 4 13 Defendants of criminal behavior.”
Those sanctions could include fines or require Kituwah to cover some of Emmitt Smith’s legal expenses.
Meanwhile, as all of this was going on, Emmitt Smith also received some positive attention. On October 31, he was inducted into the Florida-Georgia Hall of Fame alongside former Florida Gators and Pittsburgh Steelers star Maurkice Pouncey.