Former Patriots Wide Receiver Irving Fryar Sentenced to Five Years in Jail

Former New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Irving Fryar was sentenced to five years in a Pennsylvania state prison Friday afternoon for his role in a $1.2 million mortgage scheme around South New Jersey and Philadelphia in 2009 and 2010.

His mother, Allene McGhee, received three years probation.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Fryar was convicted in August on charges of conspiracy and theft by deception.

Attorneys for Fryar and McGhee argued that co-conspirator William Barksdale tricked the two when he created a plan to help Fryar’s debts with a series of fraudulent mortgage applications that included falsified wage information.

Barksdale testified that Fryar was aware of the nature of the scheme and McGhee used her good credit and home as collateral to apply for multiple loans without disclosing all of the applications to the banks.

Fryar played for the Patriots from 1984 to 1992, earning a spot on the team’s All-1980s team and the 50th Anniversary Team in 2009.