Man arrested, charged over fake football recruiting scheme in Georgia
The man, Malcolm Walker, was arrested and has been charged with theft by deception, Gainesville police said.
A Georgia man has been arrested and charged after multiple law enforcement agencies said he got families to pay him for football recruitment trips that never happened.
The man, Malcolm Walker, has been charged with theft by deception, Lt. Kevin Holbrook of the Gainesville Police Department confirmed to Paste BN Wednesday morning. He was arrested on March 3 and was booked into the Hall County Jail.
According to Holbrook, a Gainesville man called police on Dec. 18 to report a case of fraud. He said he sent Walker a total of $1,023 via Cash App after Walker promised to connect a football player the man identified as his son to recruiters.
According to the man, he sent the funds to cover airfare and game entries Walker promised, Holbrook said.
Walker told the man his own son played football at Buford High School and got a scholarship to Colorado University. Walker said he could make the same thing happen for the man’s son, according to Holbrook.
“(Walker) used hope and a future to prey upon our youth, using the goodwill of their parents and guardians,” Holbrook wrote in an email to Paste BN Wednesday morning.
Walker did not immediately respond to Paste BN’s requests for comment via email and social media Wednesday morning.
Suspect had strong presence on social media
According to television station WAGA-TV, Walker said in a now deleted or private social media post that he "did not reach out to anyone for me to ever scam anyone."
"There are specifics that coaches and organizations look for and your child may not be that one that they are in search of,” he allegedly wrote. “That doesn’t mean stop trying other opportunities for your child and that definitely doesn’t mean that it’s my fault that whatever dreams we may have wanted to come through, sometimes fail.”
Walker, who also does comedy and goes by the name Busta according to his social media pages, previously shared videos on his Facebook page of himself commenting on young players’ football abilities using the hashtag #BustaRecruits.
In one Feb. 3 video, he shared footage of a Thomson High School football player and noted the school’s reputation for its great athletes.
“If it’s coming from Thomson High School … you already know the pedigree,” Walker said in the video, adding the caption “No offers?? NO WAY!”
WAGA-TV spoke to two of Walker’s accusers, Phyllip Becoats and a senior at Gainesville High School named B.J. Bailey, who he had mentored. Another coach suggested Becoats reach out to Walker so he could make a video about the student-athlete, WAGA-TV reported. Walker made the video and then three months later, called Becoats and said coaches at the University of Colorado wanted to meet with Bailey.
Becoats told the outlet he also saw Walker’s videos on social media, including videos where he seemed to be well-connected.
There was never a trip to Colorado in store for Georgia senior
"I'm seeing him at Colorado rubbing elbows with the coaches,” Becoats told WAGA-TV. “Plus, he's dealing with his kid. So I'm thinking he's a good guy.”
When the trip did not come to fruition, Becoats asked for a refund. Walker promised to give him the $1,023 in five days, but the money never came, reported WAGA-TV.
Becoats then went to the police.
Holbrook, from the Gainesville Police Department, told WAGA-TV that banking information led investigators to Walker. Based on what investigators found, there was never going to be a trip to Colorado for the student athlete.
Bailey, who Becoats mentors and was trying to help, said good people don’t do things like this.
"I don't think that you can have a soul if you're preying on kids that are working really hard to get what they want and then you just playing them out of their money and out of their dreams," he said.
Becoats, who reached out to Walker to help his mentee, managed to help the senior meet with coaches at Maryville College in Tennessee, where he has a full scholarship, WAGA-TV reported.
He told the television station that it’s unbelievable that Walker would do this to children.
"They work so hard to get to that level, and for some guy to do something like that, to just build them up, and then they get that emotional letdown like that is just crazy," he told WAGA-TV.
Investigation underway, police looking for other victims to come forward
Holbrook said fraud cases such as this can be hard to investigate because of the time and resources needed to investigate them. The cases often grow stale, he said.
“The investigator put forth a great deal of time and effort in following the leads and evidence trail,” Holbrook said. “These are white collar cases, ones in which technology, accounting and forensics come together.”
Police believe Walker has stolen at least tens of thousands of dollars.
Gainesville police said those who have worked with Walker can contact their local police department to report him. The agency has received calls from other law enforcement agencies who say Walker was reported to them as well. There are cases all across the state, Holbrook told WAGA-TV.
"We've been notified by multiple law enforcement agencies, multiple individuals who have said, ‘Hey, that's the same guy who did this to us,’" Holbrook told the outlet.
This story has been updated to clarify the case that was reported to police in Gainesville, Georgia.
Saleen Martin is a reporter on Paste BN's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.