Father of former Eagles linebacker admits to COVID relief fraud worth several million dollars
Raymond Matthews, father of Haason Reddick, pleaded guilty, as did Matthews' ex-wife, Tia Wright. Reddick was not implicated.
Raymond Matthews, the father of former Eagles linebacker Haason Reddick, pleaded guilty this month to fraudulently obtaining several million dollars in COVID relief funds from the federal government and is facing a recommended 51 months in prison as part of a deal with prosecutors, court records show.
Tia Wright, Matthews’ ex-wife, pleaded guilty in January to her role in the same conspiracy to defraud the federal government and could be sentenced to probation as part of a deal, court records show.
The documents describing the conspiracy and the plea agreements do not mention any connection to Reddick, who is still active in the NFL and last season played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a one-year contract worth a total of $14 million.
Wright’s plea agreement says that federal prosecutors are recommending that she serve probation if she pays $1.35 million in restitution before her sentencing date on Sept. 14. If she does not pay that amount by then, prosecutors recommend that she serve 12 months in prison.
Wright’s lawyer, Lee Vartan, said in an emailed statement: “The plea agreement between Ms. Wright and the government recognizes that she was a bit player in the underlying charges. The government has agreed to recommend a sentence of probation, which it almost never does, if Ms. Wright meets her restitution obligations. She is committed to doing so.”
A lawyer for Matthews could not be reached for comment on Monday.
Both Matthews, who is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 24, and Wright pleaded guilty to one count of bank and wire fraud conspiracy. Matthews agreed in his plea deal to make full restitution and agreed to forfeit nearly $850,000 in property.
Federal prosecutors said in their filings that Matthews and Wright and unnamed coconspirators had a goal “to financially enrich themselves” by fraudulently obtaining funds from the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.
They submitted “fraudulent loan applications, for companies with little or no operations, that included false statements about the companies’ owner, number of employees, revenues, and expenses, and by providing false documentation,” prosecutors said.
According to prosecutors, Matthews, who was a resident of Cherry Hill at the time, in March 2020 submitted an EIDL loan application for Vintage Properties LLC, which listed Matthews as the sole owner, and the SBA declined the application because Matthews had an “unsatisfactory credit history.”
Tia Wright, who lived in Westville, N.J., owned or controlled New Jersey companies MLK Catering LLC and Trinity Live Entertainment and Events LLC, prosecutors said.
Matthews and Wright later became involved in submitting documents that listed owners who were not the actual owners of the business, claiming the companies had more employees than they actually had, and representing that they made more money than their actual revenue, prosecutors said.
Reddick, who was born in Camden and graduated from Haddon Heights High School and Temple University, has been active in supporting programs in the Camden area.
In one deal announced a year ago, it was reported that Reddick planned to build more than two dozen homes in Camden through a nonprofit he formed in 2024. Matthews reportedly was listed as a vice president of the nonprofit.
