Police arrested Buster Skrine at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Wednesday as he attempted to return to the United States, and the former NFL cornerback now faces multiple fraud charges.
Canadian police accuse Skrine of defrauding banks of more than $100,000 by using fraudlent checks to open accounts and withdraw money before the checks cleared. Skrine identified himself as a “former NFL player” to the banks.
“There is reason to believe the same male has been committing similar [offenses] across Canada,” Durham Regional Police Service wrote in a statement.
Skrine, 34, faces 15 charges — four counts of fraud over $5,000, seven counts of making false statements to produce money, three counts of possession of property obtained by a crime over $5,000 and one count of possession of property obtained by a crime over $5,000.
Police believe the alleged scheme went on for more than nine months.
Skrine, a fifth-round pick of the Browns in 2011, played 11 seasons in the NFL with the Browns, Jets, Bears, and Titans and earned more than $40 million. He last played in the NFL in 2021.