Jeremy Shockey Files Lawsuit Against Former Teammate in Film Tax Credit Scam

Recently released Saints defensive end Charles Gran and current Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey(pictured) have filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against their former teammate, Kevin Houser, alleging Houser duped them and other current and former Saints players and coaches into investing more than a million dollars in a film tax credit scam, the Times-Picayune reports.

Houser, the Saints’ former long-snapper, was cut prior to the 2009 season.

Grant and Shockey say Houser, who was a licensed securities broker, convinced them they were buying state tax credits for Louisiana Film Studios, but later it turned out LFS had never applied for the state tax credits, according to the newspaper.

Nearly two dozen former or current Saints players and coaches, including quarterback Drew Brees, Coach Sean Payton and Saints legend Archie Manning, invested $1.7 million to buy what they thought were tax credits for the film studio project in Elmwood, the Times-Picayune reports. Grant and Shockey’s lawsuit is labeled a class action on behalf of the rest of the investors.

Houser’s attorney, Jimmy Castex, told the newspaper Monday his client and his wife were themselves victims of a scam by the film studio’s former CEO, Wayne Read.