AAF Investor Reggie Fowler Arrested on Bank Fraud Charges After $25 Million Investment
Alliance of American Football investor Reggie Fowler was arrested on Tuesday with charges of "bank fraud and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business," according to Sports Illustrated's Conor Orr.
A former minority stakeholder in the Vikings, Fowler invested nearly $25 million in the AAF during its inaugural season. But withdrawals from his domestic and foreign accounts were reportedly "held up around Christmas," freezing a key source of the league's funding.
Fowler did not respond to calls from Sports Illustrated before his arrest, per Orr.
The Alliance of American Football is currently sorting through a myriad of financial troubles after the league folded last month, including a filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on April 17. The league has claimed assets of $11.3 million and liabilities of $48.3 million, holding just $536,160.68 in cash.
The decision to fold the AAF on April 2 sent the league's players into a sea of economic uncertainty. Former Giants safety Adrien Robinson reported a $2,500 hotel room charge on the league's behalf, while injured players didn't know who would provide medical care.
"As word of the crash came down on April 2, players scrambled to book their own flights home. Others, some of whom had literally crammed their kids’ cribs into hotel rooms, searched for places to stay," Orr wrote in his story appearing in the May 6 edition of Sports Illustrated. "In the mayhem, one [Arizona] Hotshots player texted afriend on the Memphis Express to ask if he was O.K. The reply: “This feels like the Fyre Festival.”
The AAF folded with two weeks left in the regular season. The Orlando Apollos finished with the league's best record at 7–1 behind head coach Steve Spurrier.
