A 24-year-old man accused of running a fake e-commerce scheme that allegedly cost former NFL players more than $1 million was found dead in a swimming pool, authorities said.
Mohamed Coulibaly’s body was discovered Friday at a home in Harrison Township after police conducted a welfare check requested by family members concerned about his well-being, according to reports citing local authorities and ABC News.
His death is under investigation. No criminal charges had been filed against him in connection with the alleged scheme at the time of his death.
The discovery comes weeks after a Barron’s investigation published in mid-July detailed how Coulibaly allegedly persuaded professional athletes to buy ownership stakes in Shopify-powered online stores that appeared highly profitable based on sales data. Investigators determined many of those transactions had been manually entered into the backend systems to create the illusion of strong business, Barron’s reported.
Three former NFL players told Barron’s they collectively lost more than $1 million across separate investments linked to Coulibaly. One of them, former New York Giants and Tennessee Titans linebacker Tae Crowder, said he invested his entire savings of $500,000 after meeting Coulibaly through a mutual friend. Crowder said he regularly logged into the store dashboard and watched the numbers rise, but never received the promised returns despite repeated excuses from Coulibaly.
“I saw him hanging out with a bunch of different guys that I knew, which made me comfortable,” Crowder said in interviews about the arrangement. He later expressed hope that others involved would come forward to resolve the situation.
Other names that surfaced in connection with the investments included Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman Jalen Carter, Las Vegas Raiders linebacker Nakobe Dean, rapper YG and U.S. men’s national team soccer player Mark McKenzie. It was not clear whether all of them were aware their names had been used or had invested, and none of the athletes has been accused of wrongdoing.
Coulibaly, a Philadelphia native, denied the allegations. He told Barron’s there was a “misunderstanding” about the technology behind the stores and that investors had not been paid because he was still waiting on funds from a planned acquisition of his venture.
The scheme typically involved offering athletes ready-made e-commerce sites for investments starting at about $50,000, with promises of principal repayment after six months plus a large share of profits, according to contracts reviewed by Barron’s. Months would pass without payments while Coulibaly offered varying explanations, the report said.
Police have not released additional details on the circumstances of Coulibaly’s death or any potential cause. Authorities continue to investigate.
