NFL legend Emmitt Smith is being accused of scamming a Native American investor out of $2.5 million as part of an alleged solar project scheme. The lawsuit, which was filed in Delaware on Monday, alleges that Kituwah LLC, the investment and economic development arm of the Cherokee Band of Indians, lent the $2.5 million after Smith, her business partner David Mosley and their real estate company, 4 13 Solutions Inc., convinced her to join the project, Front Office Sports reported. The lawsuit against the Hall of Famer and NFL’s all-time rushing leader seeks at least $2.5 million, along with interest, costs, expenses and any additional damages to be determined at trial. The loan has been overdue for more than two years and Kituwah alleges that “he has not recovered a single cent.” He also alleges that the money was actually used to pay a company that had previously invested in a company. Emmitt Smith reacts after a shot on the 15th hole during the first round of the 2026 James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational. Getty Images “Kituwah devoted significant time, effort and resources to the alleged joint venture,” the lawsuit states. “Not only has Kituwah not realized any return on its investment, but Kituwah has been forced to spend additional costs in an effort to claim amounts still owed to it under its investment, including to investigate what happened to its money.” The lawsuit also called the whole thing a “strategy,” and Kituwah found himself receiving a “constant stream of lies” about a deal that first appeared on the radar in early 2023. Kituwah was told he would be a partner in the Project Exodus solar farm that was being planned and would eventually receive funding from the U.S. Department of Energy. The lawsuit claims the loan was made with “false projections and data” and that he had been promised a repayment of the loan “in a matter of months.” He also hoped to have the solar park up and running by 2024. Kituwah describes the entire affair “essentially, like a Ponzi scheme” and claims that after launching his own investigation into what happened to the money, he discovered that the money was intended to “improperly pay” Wilson Holdings, which had partnered with Smith and the other defendants in other investments. Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith runs for a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers during second half action at Texas Stadium in Irving on Sunday, December 8, 2002. The 49ers defeated the Cowboys 31-27. REUTERS “Despite being present on multiple calls in which Kituwah asked repeated questions about the [loan and joint venture agreement]”Neither the principals of 4 13 Solutions nor Wilson Holdings disclosed how the loan proceeds had actually been used,” Kituwah wrote in his lawsuit, according to Courthouse News Service. “Their lack of disclosure is telling and only further confirms the fraudulent intent of 4 13 Solutions and the illicit nature of the payment.” Smith, 57, has not played in the NFL since 2004, but helped the Cowboys win three Super Bowls in the 1990s.
