Ex-NFL player Will Allen accused of running a $31 million Ponzi scheme

Former NFL cornerback Will Allen and a business associate allegedly ran a $31 million Ponzi scheme through a company that provided loans to professional athletes, according to a complaint filed by the SEC.

On Tuesday the SEC announced that it was bringing fraud charges against Allen, Susan C. Daub, and their firm Capital Financial Partners.

"Allen and Daub told investors that they could profit by funding the loans and receiving interest of up to 18 percent paid by the athletes. The complaint alleges that from July 2012 through February 2015, the defendants paid approximately $20 million to investors while receiving a little more than $13 million in loan repayments from athletes," the SEC said in a statement. "To fill the nearly $7 million gap, Allen and Daub used money from some investors to pay other investors, the hallmark of a Ponzi scheme."

The company raised $31.7 million from more than 40 investors, the SEC says.

The SEC complaint, which can be read in full below, alleges that Allen and Daub took $7 million in investments intended to be used in athlete loans and used it for "personal expenses and unrelated business ventures."

Those expenses allegedly included "charges at casinos, pawn shops, jewelers, grocery stores, cigar shops, and clothing retailers."

"In other words, they used money from some investors to pay other investors, while at the same time funneling millions of dollars of investor money to themselves - the hallmarks ofa Ponzi scheme," the SEC said in the complaint.

Allen and Daub could not immediately be reached for comment.

Allen was drafted in the first round by the New York Giants in 2011. He played 12 seasons in the NFL.

Here's the full complaint: