A former NFL player who became a real estate developer was indicted by a federal grand jury for embezzling loan proceeds intended for the development and construction of two commercial real estate projects.
According to the indictment, Christopher A. Harrison, principal of Maryland-based C.A. Harrison Cos., allegedly induced and misappropriated loan proceeds intended for the development and construction of two real estate projects – the Model Tobacco Project in Richmond, Virginia, and the Whitaker Park Project in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
According to the indictment, Harrison allegedly secured loans from Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust for nearly $14.5 million for the Model Tobacco Project and $7.7 million for the Whitaker Park Project. Under the terms of the loan agreements, Harrison was prohibited from using loan proceeds to pay himself or affiliated entities any construction, management, development, or contractor fees or from using the loan proceeds for personal expenditures.
However, Harrison was accused of skimming loan proceeds by creating a straw demolition company and then allegedly creating forged and falsified documentation purporting to show the phony company worked on the projects. Harrison allegedly forged the signature of a separate individual, who Harrison falsely represented was the “president” of the phony company in his submittals to the bank. Harrison also is alleged to have doctored and inflated invoices in the name of a separate construction vendor for Model Tobacco, inducing the bank to disburse inflated loan amounts.
In total, Harrison allegedly submitted over a dozen falsified invoices and lien waivers in draw requests for $3.6 million in loan proceeds to Harrison to satisfy purported expenditures. Harrison reportedly used some of the money he stole for the following personal purchases and expenses.
Harrison is charged with wire fraud and mail fraud, which carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; engaging in monetary transactions with criminally derived property, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; and aggravated identity theft, which carries a two-year mandatory minimum prison term.
Harrison first gained prominence at the University of Virginia, where he was an offensive lineman on the football team. He played with the Detroit Lions from 1996 to 1998 and was with the Baltimore Ravens in 1999.
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