Cameron Colvin Business Fraud Case

Under Texas law, telling someone a false statement about your finances or your business to get their money or credit is its own felony — separate from theft — and running a company built on misrepresentations can also be a criminal deceptive business practice. That is the Texas lens on the federal case against former college and NFL-hopeful football player Cameron Colvin, who is accused of posing as a successful business mogul and defrauding people of nearly $2.7 million through a company that prosecutors say held no legitimate assets.

What Is Cameron Colvin Accused Of?

According to reporting by ABC15 Arizona, a superseding federal indictment expanded the case against Cameron Colvin to 17 counts of wire fraud and 17 counts of transactional money laundering, and raised the alleged loss from about $1.2 million to nearly $2.7 million. Colvin, a former University of Oregon player who signed with the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent but never appeared in a regular-season game, allegedly presented himself as a successful business mogul through a company called CamCo that prosecutors say held no legitimate assets. He was arrested in Arizona, pleaded not guilty to the original charges, and was arraigned on the additional counts on August 19. His attorney declined to comment on the ongoing case.

Is Lying to Get Money or Credit a Crime in Texas?

Yes, and it does not require a completed theft. Under Texas Penal Code Section 32.32, it is a crime to intentionally or knowingly make a materially false or misleading written statement to obtain property or credit, including a loan, an extension of credit, or an investment. The offense is graded by the value of the property or credit sought, climbing from a Class C misdemeanor for small amounts up to a first-degree felony when the value is $300,000 or more. Because the statute targets the false statement itself, prosecutors in Frisco or Dallas-Fort Worth can pursue it even where victims dispute how much they actually lost, which is why it is such a powerful tool in sham-business cases.

Can Running a Sham Business Be a Deceptive Business Practice?

It can. Under Texas Penal Code Section 32.42, a person commits a deceptive business practice by, among other things, making materially false or misleading statements to obtain property or in the course of business. Where someone allegedly markets a company that has no genuine operations or assets, that conduct can be charged as a deceptive business practice in addition to any fraud theory. Paired with Section 32.32, it lets prosecutors attack both the individual misrepresentations used to pull in money and the broader picture of a business that existed mainly to deceive.

How Does Texas Treat the Money That Changes Hands?

Once money is obtained by deception, moving or concealing it can trigger a second layer of charges. Texas Penal Code Section 34.02 makes it a felony to knowingly acquire, transfer, conceal, or spend funds that are the proceeds of criminal activity, graded by dollar amount just like theft. In a case built on dozens of alleged fraudulent transfers, the state can charge the underlying deception under Sections 32.32 and 32.42 and then stack money-laundering counts for the transactions that followed — a structure that mirrors the federal pairing of wire fraud with transactional money laundering.

How Would a Texas Court Handle a Case Like This?

A case like this would turn on the paper trail and on intent. Prosecutors would line up the written representations made to each person against the true state of the company and its finances, while the defense would focus on whether any statement was materially false, whether it was actually relied upon, and whether the accused genuinely believed the business would succeed. Because Sections 32.32 and 34.02 are both graded by dollar amount and Texas allows amounts from one scheme to be aggregated, how the losses are grouped can decide whether the exposure is a state-jail felony or a first-degree felony. State charges like these can also run parallel to federal wire-fraud and money-laundering prosecutions for the same conduct.

How L&L Law Group Can Help

Business-fraud cases are won and lost in the documents — the emails, the pitch materials, the bank records, and the exact wording of what was promised. At L & L Law Group, PLLC, we defend Frisco and Dallas-Fort Worth clients against false-statement, deceptive-business-practice, theft-by-deception, and money-laundering allegations, scrutinizing whether each statement was truly false and material, whether the loss figures hold up, and whether the government can prove intent rather than a failed venture. If you or your business is facing a fraud investigation in Collin County or anywhere in DFW, contact us for a confidential consultation.

Source: Reporting via ABC15 Arizona and the Texas Penal Code (2026). This article is legal commentary by L & L Law Group, PLLC on a news story and is not a republication of the original reporting.

By Reggie London and Njeri London. This article is attorney advertising and general information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different; outcomes depend on specific facts. If you face criminal charges in Texas, consult a licensed Texas criminal-defense attorney.