Former Jackson State football player Abdul-Malik McClain pleads guilty in $1M COVID scheme

J.T. Keith, Mississippi Clarion Ledger
Updated ·2 min read

Former Jackson State football player Abdul-Malik McClain pleaded guilty to orchestrating a scheme that sought more than $1.56 million and obtained more than $283,000 in COVID-19 pandemic unemployment benefits, according to the plea agreement obtained by the Clarion Ledger.

McClain, 24, came up with the scheme while attending Southern Cal in 2020. He transferred to Jackson State, where he played one season. The former four-star recruit appeared in one game for the Tigers, recording three tackles against Louisiana-Monroe on Sept. 18, 2021.

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On June 4, McClain entered a plea agreement to one count of mail fraud.

United States District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald scheduled a Sept. 16 sentencing hearing at which time McClain faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. He also face a three-year period of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.

“Instead of using his time at a major university to advance his athletic and academic life, this defendant took advantage of a public health emergency to fraudulently obtain government benefits,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “My office will continue to vigorously prosecute individuals who used the recent pandemic for their own unlawful ends.”

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McClain’s plea agreement, cited he “filed fraudulent claims for unemployment benefits and organized and assisted a group of other players in filing fraudulent claims for unemployment benefits, including under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program.”

The debit cards ranged from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars and in many instances McClain himself used to make cash withdrawals at ATMs and to fund personal expenses.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Former Jackson State football player pleads guilty in $1M COVID scheme