Former Eagles football player pleads guilty to Federal Fraud charges

Wendell Smallwood Jr. the former West Virginia Mountaineer running back and draft pick of the Philadelphia Eagles plead guilty to federal fraud charges after he was accused of submitting fraudulent tax returns and applications for hundreds of thousands of dollars in COVID-19 pandemic aid programs. The signed plea agreement was approved Friday by a federal judge in Delaware. Smallwood, of Mullica Hill, New Jersey, faces sentencing in May on the three fraud charges. Smallwood, 30, owned up to the charges and admitted to doing the crime. He filed false tax returns for himself and others in 2021 and 2022, drawing refunds for himself of about $110,000, prosecutors said.

Smallwood played for the Eagles after being drafted in 2016 following his collegiate career at West Virginia. During his NFL career, he also played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Washington Redskins.