Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith, his CRE company 4 13 Solutions Inc. and his business partners are facing a lawsuit over allegations that they exploited an investor in a Texas solar project scheme.
Kituwah LLC, a tribally owned Native American economic development agency, filed a lawsuit in Delaware on Monday alleging that Smith and business partner David Mosley promised to use $2.5M to acquire an interest in Project Exodus, a solar farm project in Texas, but didn't. Darrel Wilson and his company, Wilson Holdings of North America, are also named as defendants in the lawsuit.
Kituwah's investigation determined that "4 13 Solutions’ representations were part of Smith’s and Mosley’s scheme to cheat Kituwah out of $2.5 million dollars," according to the lawsuit.
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Kituwah claims that Smith and Mosley persuaded the development arm to form a joint venture with their company and to loan $2.5M to the JV. Smith and Mosley allegedly said developer Genesis Consolidated Industries was in the process of acquiring land in Texas for the solar farm but didn't have enough money to acquire it, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims that 4 13 Solutions, through Smith and Mosley, made multiple misrepresentations and false promises to facilitate the investment, including that other investors were "clamoring" to finance the project. Kituwah also claims that 4 13 Solutions said it would obtain a Department of Energy loan to provide permanent financing and that the solar farm would be functional by the end of 2024 and generate millions in income.
Kituwah alleges that instead of investing in the renewable project, Smith and Mosley took the money and used it to "improperly pay Wilson Holdings, with whom they had partnered on other ventures."
4 13 Solutions did not respond to a request for comment.
The economic development agency claims that by the end of 2024, there was no sign that 4 13 Solutions had made any progress in acquiring the rights to the solar farm project. When its loan came due on Feb. 1, 2024, it wasn't repaid, according to the lawsuit.
"Kituwah’s promissory note remains unpaid years after maturity, and it has not recovered a penny from its $2.5 million loan," the lawsuit reads.
Smith is the National Football League's all-time leader in career rushing yards and rushing touchdowns, winning three Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys. He founded 4 13 Solutions in 2020 and has also formed other real estate organizations since his retirement.
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