Eagles’ Super Bowl champ Alshon Jeffery arrested for fraud stemming from car crash

Alshon Jeffery, the former Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver who helped the team win their first Super Bowl, was arrested and charged with insurance fraud in California, according to court documents.

Jeffery’s insurance policy on his Mercedes-Benz had lapsed when he rear-ended a Tesla driven by a Lyft driver with a passenger on Interstate 5 in San Diego on Sept. 21, according to the complaint, described to The Inquirer by a public affairs officer with the Superior Court of California, San Diego.

Prosecutors claim Jeffery, 36, then obtained a new car insurance policy on Sept. 24 and filed a false claim, in which he admitted to the crash but claimed it took place on Sept. 28, so the damages would’ve been covered.

The damage to Jeffery’s Mercedes-Benz was estimated to be about $13,000, while the cost of the damage inflicted on the Tesla was estimated to be over $10,000.

Jeffery failed to appear on court March 9, according to court documents, leading to a warrant for his arrest. He was ultimately arrested Wednesday and posted bond of $25,000.

TMZ was first to report the news of Jeffery’s arrest.

Jeffery is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday, and faces up to five years in prison and $50,000 in fines on felony charges of knowingly filing a false insurance claim and failing to disclose the crash for insurance purposes.

The former Eagle retired in 2021 after four seasons in Philadelphia, a tenure shortened by persistent injury issues and locker room drama as his production tapered. Jeffery scored the first touchdown in Super Bowl LII, but infamously dropped a key pass on the potential game-winning drive during the 2018 NFC divisional playoff game against the New Orleans Saints.

Jeffery grew up in St. Matthews, S.C., a small town of 2,000 people and few traffic lights, graduating from Calhoun County High School. After just two seasons of college football at the University of South Carolina, Jeffery cemented his name in the school’s record books, holding the eighth-most career receptions and fourth-most career yards, according to USC.

He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 2012 NFL draft, and amassed 4,549 receiving yards in four seasons there, third-most in team history.

His first season with the Eagles netted him $9.5 million. In 2017, the Eagles signed Jeffery to a four-year $52 million contract extension. He parted ways with the Birds after the 2020 season after finishing the season with just six catches.

While it’s been half a decade since Jeffery has worn Kelly green, he said on a recent Bussin’ with the Boys podcast that from the moment he first practiced with the squad, he knew “We’re going to win the Super Bowl... We had all the pieces to make this a special team.”

Staff writer Ryan W. Briggs contributed to this article.