Pennsylvania State Police say an unknown person “posing as Pittsburgh Steelers player Eli Heidenreich” scammed two women in Pennsylvania.
The two Washington County women, a 20-year-old and a 50-year-old from Avella, were scammed out of $1,000 by a man who claimed he was the Steelers rookie, who also happens to be a Pittsburgh-area native.
The two women transferred money to someone they believed was Heidenreich in July through several financial transactions, according to an incident report released this week. Although the scam was reported on July 30, Pennsylvania State Police have not yet identified any suspects.
Earlier this month, Pennsylvania State Police reported that a Pennsylvania man was reportedly scammed out of over $42,000 by someone impersonating WWE superstar Rhea Ripley.
Scams involving people pretending to be football players are becoming more common
The incident involving Eli Heidenreich’s identity follows the arrest of two men who allegedly stole at least $1.3 million from more than 20 women in at least four states by posing as a 49ers player and his financial advisor. Daejon Love, 35, and Taylor Jamie Chan, 18, were accused of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in late August.
The FBI said this past Friday that 35 more women have been identified as possible victims of Love and Chan, increasing the number of suspected victims in the ongoing fraud case to over 60.
Also in August, a former Division II football player was accused of fabricating a completely fake NFL career in which he allegedly played for the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers and won the Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
That same month, C.J. Evins, one of two men who posed as NFL players, was sentenced to prison for his involvement in a $20 million wire fraud conspiracy. Evins and former Alabama defensive lineman Luther Davis pretended to be Green Bay Packers cornerback Xavier McKinney, Los Angeles Chargers tight end David Njoku, and Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. in order to secure nearly $20 million in fraudulent loans.
In May, a Louisiana couple was accused by authorities of stealing millions of dollars by posing as top collegiate football and basketball players for years. To get loans in their names, they allegedly posed as the multiple athletes, including Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward and former LSU star Leonard Fournette.