Pro Football Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith is accused of cheating a Native American investor out of $2.5 million. He allegedly used money meant to fund a Texas solar project to instead pay back a company that had previously invested in his ventures.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in Delaware’s Chancery Court, comes from Kituwah LLC, the tribally-owned investment and economic development arm of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. It claims the former Cowboys running back, his longtime business partner David Mosley, and their commercial real estate company, 4 13 Solutions Inc., convinced Kituwah to provide a $2.5 million loan for the purported solar project. However, Kituwah says it has “not recovered a penny” despite the loan being more than two years past due and numerous requests for repayment.
According to the suit, the “ploy” began in early 2023. Kituwah was fed a “steady stream of lies,” about the deal, the suit says, including that it would be a partner in the planned Project Exodus solar farm, that the U.S. Department of Energy would eventually provide “permanent financing,” and that the solar farm would be “up and running” by the end of 2024. Kituwah was convinced to provide the loan due to “false projections and data” and a misrepresentation of the level of interest and potential investments from others. It was promised repayment “in a matter of months.”
In truth, the lawsuit alleges, Smith and the other defendants secretly earmarked the $2.5 million to “improperly pay” an entity called Wilson Holdings, which they have previously partnered with on other investments. Wilson Holdings is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
“Kituwah poured substantial time, efforts, and resources in the purported joint venture,” the suit says. “Not only has Kituwah not seen any returns on its investment, Kituwah has been forced to expend additional costs in efforts to reclaim the amounts it is still owed pursuant to its investment, including to investigate what happened to its money.”
The loan allegedly came due Feb. 1, 2024, but was not repaid. Additionally, Kituwah “has not seen any evidence that Project Exodus has made any meaningful progress towards completion.” It launched its own investigation, which led to the lawsuit, and as part of that probe it determined the defendants’ use of the $2.5 million was “essentially, like a Ponzi scheme.”
The suit includes six causes of action, including fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract. It says close to $600,000 in interest has accrued on the loan, meaning the current balance is over $3 million. Kituwah says that last year it offered to waive that interest if the loan was repaid by Aug. 31, 2025, but this effort to “work out a resolution” was “effectively ignored,” like its other requests.
The lawsuit seeks at least $2.5 million, plus interest, costs, and expenses, as well as additional damages to be determined at trial. It also requests attorneys’ fees and other costs associated with bringing the lawsuit, plus “further relief as the court deems just and proper.”
A representative for Kituwah did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment. Representatives for the defendants could not immediately be reached.
