Dallas Cowboys icon Emmitt Smith, the NFL’s all-time rushing leader and three-time Super Bowl champion, has found himself in a courtroom drama. According to Smith and his business associate, Mark Page, they were duped out of at least $500,000 in what they describe as a Ponzi scheme tied to Traders Domain FX, a company that is already being investigated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Emmitt Smith Heads to Court
Page and Smith run E Smith Legacy Holdings, a firm involved in real estate development, investment, construction, and infrastructure. They also operate EJ Smith Construction, which handles commercial and civil construction work.
A lawsuit filed in Dallas County Court, states that Smith and Page were encouraged to invest in the firm through Johnny Wimbrey, a motivational speaker and entrepreneur with personal ties to Smith, The Dallas News reported. The plaintiffs allege that Wimbrey and others made false promises of lucrative returns from foreign currency and gold trading. Instead he did not deliver and allegedly misappropriated the funds.
Court documents noted that Traders Domain FX was placed on the CFTC’s “RED List” in 2022, signaling that it was operating without proper registration, TMZ reported. In the lawsuit, Smith and Page accuse Wimbrey and his co-defendants of fraud, conspiracy, and unjust enrichment, with Smith and Page seeking damages of no less than $500,000, plus legal fees.
Wimbrey has denied the allegations and filed to revive a countersuit, claiming that Smith acted without authorization by soliciting investments in his name. He claims Smith damaged his reputation.
Smith’s attorney, Eric Walker, said, “It is unfortunate that Mr. Wimbrey is attempting to drag my client’s name through the mud instead of returning the money he took from him through fraud and deception. We will litigate the case in court, and not in publications.”
According to Spotrac.com, Smith’s career earnings totaled $61,275,000. Today he has an estimated net worth of $25 million.
