One of the greatest players in NFL history was sued by a Native American economic development agency on Monday, claiming the star defrauded the organization out of millions of dollars meant for a Texas solar project investment.
In a complaint filed in Delaware Chancery Court on Monday, Kituwah Energy-a business entity owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians-accused former Dallas Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith and several business partners of fraudulently inducing it to fund $2.5 million for a proposed Texas solar farm in 2023.
Kituwah says that 4 13 Solutions, a real estate and energy company co-founded by Smith and business partner David Mosley, represented that the funds would help form a jointly owned company to develop “Project Exodus,” a utility-scale solar and battery storage installation to be located in Caldwell County, between Austin and San Antonio. However, the complaint from Kituwah states that the $2.5 million investment was diverted to another company-Wilson Holdings, which has ties to 4 13 Solutions-without the company’s consent.
“Instead of using the loan proceeds to acquire Project Exodus as promised, 4 13 Solutions used the $2.5 million to pay Wilson Holdings, apparently for money that Wilson Holdings had previously invested,” reads the complaint. “Essentially, like a Ponzi scheme.”
Kituwah, 4 13 Solutions, and Wilson Holdings have formed a new limited liability company, Jabez 4 10, to acquire and develop the project. Kituwah holds the largest ownership interest in this LLC. In September 2023, Kituwah funded the the company with a $2.5 million loan at a 12 percent annual interest rate. The loan repayment was due by February 1, 2024. Per the complaint, it was believed that Project Exodus would begin operations by the end of 2024, with a projected first-year income of nearly $14 million.
Smith and Mosley purportedly told Kituwah that the funds would then be paid to Genesis Consolidated Industries-a renewable energy architecture firm based in Dallas-in exchange for rights to the land-purchase agreement and ownership of Project Exodus. However, Kituwah claims in the filing that those interests were never transferred, the financing was never completed, and the solar farm never meaningfully progressed.
Under a side agreement titled “Wilson Side Letter,” Wilson Holdings was allegedly entitled to that payment only after Jabez obtained permanent financing. Kituwah says that condition never occurred.
Kituwah further says that Smith and Mosley concealed the transfer while offering repeated explanations for the financing delay to potential investors.
Requests for comment from 4 13 Solutions, Wilson Logistics and Genesis Consolidated Industries were not returned as of Tuesday morning.
As of Aug. 31, the loan remained unpaid, with Kituwah calculating that the principal and accrued interest now totals approximately $3.1 million. Per the lawsuit, Kituwah seeks repayment of the loan and accrued interest, plus reimbursement of legal fees, investigative expenses, and any additional relief the court may award.
This isn’t Emmitt Smith’s first Ponzi-related lawsuit
This is the second Ponzi scheme-related suit Smith’s been involved in, but this time he’s accused of perpetrating the scheme, not as a victim.
In 2025, it was reported that Smith was involved in a three-year legal dispute in which he claimed he was persuaded to invest $500,000 in a foreign investment firm and trading platform called Traders’ Domain FX
Smith’s lawsuit dates back to 2022, alleging that Southlake businessman Johnny Wimbrey, Secap Holdings LLC, and residents Frederick Safranko, of Austin, and Tin Quoc Tran, of Katy, solicited at least $500,000 for foreign trading investments that could be withdrawn upon request. However, the funds were instead funneled into bank accounts controlled by the defendants, to which the plaintiffs had no access. Filings stated that Smith was unaware that the company was not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission or the CFTC to offer foreign currency trading.
Smith and Page received daily account balance statements claiming they earned millions of dollars, but those earnings weren’t real, the suit said.
The case is still ongoing as Smith and the defendant’s attorneys go back and forth in a Dallas courthouse to litigate the claims and counterclaims.
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This article originally published at Cherokee-owned agency sues Cowboys’ legend Emmitt Smith over Texas solar deal.
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