Owls, Kiffin accused of fraud
Florida Atlantic football coach Lane Kiffin, the university and the state of Florida are defendants in a fraud lawsuit filed Tuesday by Antonio “A.C.” Carter in Shelby County, Ala.
Carter alleges that Kiffin misled him to believe he had a job on FAU’s football staff in order to leverage his relationship with a recruit.
Carter, a former University of Alabama wide receiver, claims in the suit that Kiffin and FAU strength and conditioning coach Wilson Love offered him a position as an assistant wide receivers coach and assistant strength and conditioning coach, before revoking it after two misdemeanor criminal charges surfaced.
Carter levied six counts against Kiffin, FAU and Florida, including reckless fraud, breach of contract and unjust enrichment. The lawsuit was first reported by SEC Country.
Through an athletic department spokesperson, FAU declined to comment. Calls to athletic director Pat Chun were not returned.
The coaching position was set to pay Carter $40,000 plus bonuses and up to $4,000 for relocation, the lawsuit said. According to the suit, the job offer was made Jan. 25 without contingencies and revoked Feb. 3.
During that time period, Kiffin allegedly tasked Carter with the recruitment of three prospects — including a four-star junior college prospect from Carter’s hometown who once signed with the University of Florida. No recruits were named in the lawsuit, but D’Anfernee McGriff is from Carter’s hometown of Tallahassee, signed with Florida out of high school and attended Iowa Western Community College last year.
The recruit was “a close family friend” of Carter, according to the suit, and had just celebrated New Year’s Eve together. FAU’s coaching staff was aware of Carter’s relationship with the recruit when he was hired, the suit alleges. The suit said all three recruits Carter helped woo signed with the Owls. The suit did not say what the criminal charges against Carter were for, but Carter’s lawyer Keith Belt said one stemmed from a 2010 Florida case where Carter was in the same car as drug paraphernalia (a marijuana grinder). The other was in Alabama for driving without a license.