The total number of recommended felony charges for Florida defensive lineman Jordan Smith reached 22 counts on Wednesday afternoon after the Gainesville Police Department filed a sworn complaint.
Smith is accused of using the credit card information of a Virginia man on July 31 to pay $1,007.82 off his lease at The Woodlands, an apartment complex in Gainesville, according to the report.
Smith received four recommended charges, two for fraud and two for larceny grand theft, in the complaint filed by GPD.
University Police had already submitted 18 recommended charges against the redshirt freshman on Monday after police say he took over $5,000 using stolen credit card information from July 18 to July 31 to purchase multiple laptops and headphones form the UF bookstore, as well as pay almost $1500 to his UF Parking and Transportation Services account.
Smith was one of nine Gators involved in the investigation conducted by UPD over the past month, with a combined total of 62 (66 including Smith's new potential charges) charges recommended for the players.
No charges have formally been filed against Smith or his eight teammates. It is up to the State Attorney’s office to decide whether or not to prosecute against them.
Smith has been suspended from all team activities since Aug. 13, around three weeks prior to UF’s season opener against Michigan. The Lithonia, Georgia, native came to Florida in 2016 as a three-star recruit, but has yet to appear in a game for the program.
Despite the recommended charges levied against Smith and his teammates this week, coach Jim McElwain did not rule out a potential return for any of the nine players. McElwain said on Wednesday he was “disappointed” to learn of their alleged crimes, but stated he would continue to support them through the legal process.
“I feel horrible about it,” he said. “I feel horrible for those kids. I also know what it can do to wreck the rest of their lives.”
You can follow Dylan Dixon on Twitter @dylanrdixon, and contact him at ddixon@alligator.org.
