Former NFL wide receiver Irving Fryar has been sentenced to five years in prison for the part he played in a mortgage scam.
Fryar, who was taken No. 1 overall by the Patriots in the 1984 NFL Draft, was facing up to 10 years in prison when he was sentenced on Oct. 2. Fryar's mom, Allene McGee, was sentenced to three years probation for the role she played in the same scam.
The 53-year-old was originally indicted on the charges in October 2013.
The scam involved a situation where Fryar and his mom would apply for multiple mortgage loans in a small period of time and then use the same property as collateral. The loan applications also included false information that said Fryar's mom was making thousands of dollars that she wasn't actually making as an event coordinator at Fryar's church.
According to the Associated Press, the Fryar and his mom barely made any payments on their four loans and each loan was eventually written off as a loss by the bank that made it.
The state of New Jersey alleges that Fryar and his mom defrauded the banks out "hundreds of thousands of dollars."
"The fact that Fryar had the means to succeed and do good things and instead chose this criminal path makes his actions all the more reprehensible," New Jersey attorney general John Hoffman said in a statement Friday.
After being drafted No. 1 overall by the Patriots, Fryar spent nine seasons in New England before moving on to Miami (1993-95), Philadelphia (1996-98) and Washington (1999-2000). The five-time Pro Bowl selection finished his career with 12,785 receiving yards.
