Former NFL Player Accused of $6 Million Fraud Sucked at Poker, Court Hears

• Ex-NFL player Anthony Hutchison is on trial for fraud, bribery, and wire fraud
• Prosecutors say he defrauded the HSID of $6 million between 2013 and 2019
• WSOP champ Mahmood said Hutchison lost “99% of the time”

A former Chicago Bears and Buffalo Bills running back accused of paying his gambling debts with public money was a lousy poker player, according to a one-time World Series of Poker champion.

Ayaz Mahmood, who has $1.7 million in live tournament earnings to his name, was testifying in the fraud and bribery trial of former NFL star Anthony Hutchison, who retired from pro football in 1985.

Federal prosecutors in Texas accuse Hutchison of bilking the Houston Independent Schools District (HISD) out of $6 million by systematically overbilling for landscaping services, such as lawn mowing and mulch, between 2013 and 2019. He achieved this by bribing former HISD chief operating officer and fellow defendant Brian Busby, who was in charge of awarding contracts and for how much, according to court documents.

‘Lacked Control’

The case has been dull at times, involving plenty of forensic accountancy and lengthy discussions on the speed at which grass grows – literally, because Hutchinson would charge for mowing school lawns four times a month, an unnecessary frequency, according to expert testimony.

But it sprang into life Thursday when Mahmood testified that Hutchison played Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) two or three times a week at the Prime Social Club in Houston.

When pressed on whether Hutchison was a good player, he replied in the negative, adding that the former athlete probably lost “99% of the time.”

“He would chase it,” Mahmood said. “We call it poker tilt, which means if you’re losing, you chase it and try to make your money back.”

The testimony appeared to add fuel to the government’s argument that Hutchison would create phony invoices to bill HISD for work not carried out so that he could pay off his prodigious gambling debts.

Logging Checks

Mahmood also admitted to introducing Hutchison to Theodore Theilen, the owner of a logging company named Bulldog Timber. Theilen admitted on the stand to cashing checks for Hutchison that were made out to Bulldog, despite his company having performed no work for HSID.

Defense attorneys claim Hutchison was simply trying to hide his addiction from contracting parties and that his tax preparers made errors in classification.

If convicted on all counts – ranging from conspiracy and bribery to wire fraud and filing false tax returns – he could face decades in prison.