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Irving Fryar released after 8 months of 5-year prison sentence

Irving Fryar, Allene McGhee

AP

Former NFL wide receiver Irving Fryar is out of prison after serving just eight months of a five-year sentence for mortgage fraud.

Fryar was released this month and placed in New Jersey’s Intensive Supervision Program for nonviolent offenders, Philly.com reports.

At the time he was convicted of conspiring with his mother to defraud various lending institutions, Fryar was pastor at the New Jerusalem Church of God. He will return to that position now that he’s been released.

Fryar and his mom fraudulently used the same property to take out mortgages from multiple lenders. His mom got three years of probation.

The 53-year-old Fryar was an All-American at Nebraska, the first overall pick in the 1984 NFL draft and a five-time Pro Bowler for the Patriots, Dolphins and Eagles, although his off-field issues sometimes overshadowed his on-field excellence. He missed the AFC Championship Game in his second NFL season because he had injured his hand in a fight with his wife and was arrested on weapons charges a couple years after that. He retired after the 2000 season with 851 catches for 12,785 yards and 84 touchdowns.