A 24-year-old man accused of orchestrating an investment scheme that allegedly cost former NFL players more than $1 million has been found dead in a swimming pool in New Jersey.
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Mohamed Coulibaly was found Friday at a home in Harrison Township as police conducted a welfare check, according to abc7. Family members had contacted authorities because of concerns about his well-being.
Authorities are investigating his death.
Coulibaly had recently been identified in a Barron's investigation as the alleged organizer of an e-commerce investment operation targeting professional athletes.
According to the report, athletes and other investors purchased stakes in online stores after being shown sales data that appeared to demonstrate successful businesses. Barron's reported that some of those transactions had actually been manually entered into the stores' back-end systems.
Mohamed Coulibaly. (Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images for Marviano Cosmetics)
Three former NFL players told the publication they collectively lost more than $1 million.
Former New York Giants linebacker Tae Crowder said he invested his entire savings, approximately $500,000, after meeting Coulibaly through a friend and seeing him associate with people Crowder knew.
Crowder said he monitored the online store and watched its reported sales numbers increase, but never received the payout he expected.
"I don't want anybody else to get involved in anything like this," Crowder told 6abc.
Coulibaly previously denied operating a scam, telling Barron's that its reporting was based on a misunderstanding of the technology. He said investors had not received their expected returns because he had not received money anticipated from an acquisition involving his venture.
No criminal charges had been filed against Coulibaly in connection with the allegations.
Authorities have not announced a cause or manner of death.
