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Former Dallas Cowboys running back and Pro Football of Famer Emmitt Smith is in some hot water this week, as he is being accused of scheming $2.5 million from an investor tied to a Native American group, according to a report from Front Office Sports.
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A lawsuit filed in Delaware’s Chancery Court on Monday by Kituwah LLC, an investment group of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, is accusing the NFL’s all-time leading rusher along with his business partner David Mosley of failing to pay back a $2.5 million loan for what was supposed to go to a solar project in Texas. The lawsuit alleges that Smith and Mosley instead used the money to pay back a different company that they owed money to, implying that they engaged in a Ponzi scheme.
Kituwah says it has “not recovered a penny” of reimbursement from the loan after years of “steady streams of lies” when making efforts to begin repayments. The report from Front Office Sports says that Kituwah was convinced to provide the loan due to “false projections and data” and a misrepresentation of the level of interest and potential investements from others. It was promised repayment “in a matter of months.” The initial loan was given in 2023 and was due on Feb. 1, 2024.
“Kituwah poured substantial time, efforts, and resources in the purported joint venture,” the lawsuit states. “Not only has Kituwah not seen any returns on its investment, Kituwah has been forced to expend additional costs in efforts to reclaim the amounts it is still owed pursuant to its investment, including to investigate what happened to its money.”
Kituwah further explains that it “has not seen any evidence that Project Exodus has made any meaningful progress towards completion.” The loan has accrued over $600,000 in interest, and Kituwah said that it was willing to waive the interest in an effort to “work out a resolution” but that it was “effectively ignored” by Smith and Mosley.
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The lawsuit seeks at least $2.5 million, plus interest and additional damages related to the financial burden to go along with any attorneys’ fees that the suit will require.
This lawsuit comes almost a year after Smith’s restaurant in Las Vegas, named Emmitt’s, was closed in Sept. 2025 by the building’s landlord after failing to pay over $400,000 in past rent.
This story was originally published September 1, 2026 at 1:06 PM with the headline “Cowboys’ Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith accused of running $2.5 million Ponzi scheme.”
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