Former NFL player Kenbrell Thompkins faces up to 12 years in prison over identity theft
Kenbrell Armod Thompkins, a former NFL wide receiver, has pleaded guilty to one count of unauthorized access device fraud as well as one count of aggravated identity theft, according to Associated Press reports.
The former wide receiver’s sentencing has been scheduled January 6. He faces up to twelve years in prison if found guilty.
Kenbrell Thompkins was illegally receiving unemployment benefits from the state of California. The payments were supposed to be for citizens who had unfortunately lost their jobs because of the ongoing pandemic, according to a plea agreement.
Former NFL Player and New England Patriots receiver Kenbrell Thompkins please guilty to Fraud and Identity theft in order to obtain COVID-19 related unemployment insurance benefits https://t.co/C2Wi27cmK6
The funds were given as debit cards and were then mailed to a number of addresses that Thompkins was linked to, one in Miami and another in nearby Aventura.
Prosecutors state that Thompkins withdrew around $230,000 across several ATMs in Miami-Dade County. The prosecutors also stated that Thompkins’ scheme also involved around $300,000 of insurance funds in California.
It is a fall from grace for a former NFL player. Thompkins was signed by the New England Patriots as a rookie in 2013 but was undrafted. In his rookie season, the receivecaught 32 passes for only 466 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
But since then, Thompkins only played for a little while for the rest of his career as he never nailed down a starting spot on an NFL roster. After his Patriots career ended, Thompkins then played with the Raiders and the Jets.
Former #Patriots, #Jets and #Raiders WR Kenbrell Thompkins has been charged with identity theft.
He's facing over 10 years behind bars. https://t.co/2650W43Oj2
Starting his career with the Patriots in 2013, Thompkins' career ended in 2017 after he was released by the New York Jets. Having a career of only four years is a stark reminder that the NFL is an unforgiving environment and more often than not, players are only in the league for a short time before they find themselves without a team and are subsequently out of the league.
What is Kenbrell Thompkins' net worth?
Kenbrell Thompkins' net worth at the time of writing is around $1.5 million according to Forbes and Business Insider.
It has not been a good couple of days for the NFL with Dallas Cowboys safety Damontae Kazee arrested and charged with DWI and now with former player Thompkins arrested. Throw in the Jon Gruden emails and it has been a horror couple of weeks for a league that is determined to have a squeaky clean image.