Man accused of defrauding NFL players found dead in New Jersey pool
Mohamed Coulibaly, alleged mastermind of a fake e-commerce scheme targeting former NFL athletes, was discovered dead in a Harrison Township pool.
Police were called to a residence in Harrison Township, New Jersey, for a welfare check and subsequently found 24-year-old Mohamed Coulibaly dead in the home’s pool. Coulibaly had been named by a Barron’s report as the leader of a scheme that convinced former NFL players to purchase stakes in counterfeit Shopify e-commerce shops, inflating sales data to appear profitable. Among the alleged victims was former Giants linebacker Tae Crowder, who was introduced to Coulibaly through a mutual acquaintance, and three other ex-players who together claimed losses exceeding $1 million.
The investigation highlighted that the fraudulent sales figures were manually entered by someone with backend access to the stores. Coulibaly publicly refuted the allegations, and law enforcement has not filed any criminal charges related to the fraud. The case remains under investigation as authorities seek to determine the cause of his death.
Why it matters
The death of a suspected fraudster linked to a multi-million-dollar scam of former NFL players raises questions about the investigation and highlights athlete vulnerability to investment fraud.
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