Former USC football star arrested Monday on federal charges

Former USC football player Abdul-Malik McClain was arrested Monday on federal charges, the LA Times reported. McClain allegedly orchestrated a group of college football players in a scheme to claim fraudulent COVID-related unemployment benefits.

The charges against McClain include 10 counts of mail fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft. He has pleaded not guilty.

Approximately 36 fraudulent claims were made for benefits as a part of the scheme, per the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The applications sought more than $900,000, but ultimately claimed a total of $228,000.

USC football was not specifically mentioned as part of the federal indictment charges, but EDD benefit cards were sent to addresses near the Trojans campus. McClain was enrolled at the university during the time period the scheme is said to have taken place, but has since transferred to Jackson State.

“While a member of his university’s football team, McClain organized and assisted a group of other football players in filing fraudulent claims for unemployment benefits, including under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program established by Congress in response to the pandemic’s economic fallout,” the indictment says. “The indictment … contained false information about the football players’ supposed prior employment, pandemic-related job loss, and job-seeking efforts in California.”

McClain and others filed applications in their own names, the names of friends and the names of identity theft victims, the indictment says. In some cases, the former USC player took a cut of the other players’ benefits.

This isn’t the first time that McClain has been linked to fraudulent COVID-19 unemployment benefits. In October of 2020, his brother Munir was suspended by the Trojans after applying for unemployment benefits for himself. Munir McClain has since transferred to Utah. He played in two games for the Utes this season, including the Pac-12 Championship against Oregon.

Munir McClain is not listed as one of the co-schemers in the federal indictment. Nor are the initials “MM” among those who received fraudulent EDD debit cards through the mail.

Abdul-Malik McClain played in one game for Jackson State, which is coached by NFL legend Deion Sanders. He recorded three tackles on Sept. 18 against Louisiana-Monroe.