Breaking: Former Bears player arrested for alleged financial fraud scheme

Another day, another former Bears player in the police blotter.

 

A day after former Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was sentenced to four days in jail following a DUI charge, former Bears slot cornerback Buster Skrine was arrested in Georgia on 18 counts in an alleged financial fraud scheme, according to Atlanta News First.

Police said Skrine, who also played for the Browns, Jets and Titans, conned women from dating sites by growing close to them, then pretended to have financial issues. More specifically, police reported Skrine told women false stories about his financial struggles and asked for money, promising to repay them using his NFL annuity. Instead, police say he used the funds for his “lavish lifestyle”

Skrine, 36, was charged by Roswell Ga. police with deposit account fraud, identity fraud, financial transaction card fraud, theft by taking and criminal attempt to commit theft.

Three victims were identified in Wisconsin, North Carolina and New York.

Skrine was already on the run from police in Canada after he was said to have disconnected an ankle monitor last year, and then missed a court date.

In 2023, Canadian authorities had arrested Skrine for allegedly depositing fraudulent checks worth over $100,000 into multiple bank accounts and then withdrawing cash before the checks could clear.

Skrine played from 2011-21 and was with the Bears in 2019 and 2020 on Matt Nagy’s team after they lost slot cornerback Bryce Callahan in free agency.

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