Emmitt Smith, the Pro Football Hall of Fame running back who won three Super Bowl titles with the Dallas Cowboys, has been accused of cheating a Native American investor out of $2.5 million in an alleged solar project deal, according to a lawsuit filed in a Delaware court.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in Delaware’s Chancery Court, The Athletic reported. It claims that Smith, 57, the NFL’s all-time leading rusher, his business partner, David Mosley, and their commercial real estate company, 4 13 Solutions Inc., convinced Kituwah LLC to invest the money to fund a solar project in Texas called Project Exodus.
Kituwah, a tribally owned investment and economic development arm of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, is seeking the return of the $2.5 million loan “with appropriate interest,” the sports news website reported.
The company said it “has not recovered a penny” from the loan to Smith’s company, The Athletic reported.
The lawsuit claims that Smith and his partners used the money from the investors to pay a third company, Wilson Holdings, for “compensation for prior unsuccessful loans and investments
Instead, the lawsuit claims, Smith, Mosley and 4 13 Solutions used the money to pay a third company, Wilson Holdings, as “compensation for prior unsuccessful loans and investments that it made with 4 13 Solutions,” ESPN reported.
From @TheAthletic: Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith and his real estate firm have been accused of cheating a Native American investor out of $2.5 million as part of an alleged solar project scheme, according to a lawsuit.https://t.co/p5ATpDybas
— The New York Times (@nytimes) September 2, 2026
According to the lawsuit, the contract between 4 13 and Kituwah stated that Wilson Holdings would be paid only if Project Exodus received long-term financing from the Department of Energy for acquiring and operating the project, according to the cable sports news outlet.
“Allegedly, the payment to Wilson Holdings was compensation for prior unsuccessful loans and investments that it made with 4 13 Solutions,” the complaint reads. “Although the parties had entered into a contract to pay Wilson Holdings if Project Exodus had obtained permanent financing, that condition never came to pass. Smith and Mosley, through 4 13 Solutions, nonetheless misdirected Kituwah’s funds to pay Wilson Holdings, all the while representing to Kituwah that they had used the loan proceeds for their proper purpose.”
Andrew Moore, an attorney for Kituwah LLC, declined comment to ESPN. Messages left with 4 13 Solutions on its website and with its main officers, including Smith, were not immediately returned to the sports outlet.
Smith, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010, was an eight-time Pro Bowl selection who led the NFL in rushing four times during his 15-year professional career.
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