BOULDER, Colo. (KDVR) — Police in Georgia tell FOX31 they arrested a man, alleging he told families he could get high school athletes meetings with coaches at the University of Colorado.
Gainesville Police Department Lieutenant Kevin Holbrook in Georgia said the agency arrested and charged Malcolm Walker with theft by deception.
Holbrook shared the following statement:
Malcolm alleged that he had a son who played for Buford High School and was accepted on scholarship to Colorado University, claiming he could help our victim to the same for their son. Malcom used hope and a future to prey upon our youth, using the goodwill of their parents and guardians.
A diligent investigator took reins on the case and obtained warrants for theft by deception. Malcolm was arrested on March 3, 2025 and booked into the Hall County Jail. Many times, cases of this nature are difficult to investigate. Many agencies don’t have the time or resources to put forward, so the case grows stale. The investigator put forth a great deal of time and effort in following the leads and evidence trail. These are white collar cases, ones in which technology, accounting and forensics come together.
We have received many inquiries from other victims across the southeast who fell prey to Walker. Other law enforcement agencies have been following up for cases in their jurisdiction. We encourage possible victims to contact their local law enforcement agency to make a report.
Gainesville Police Department Lieutenant Kevin Holbrook
“We were excited about going to get to see Deon,” Lakeisha Hamilton said.
Lakeisha Hamilton and her son’s athletic trainer Lavan Sawyer tell FOX31 about their own experiences with Walker.
“We never reached out to him with intentions of trying to help to get to Colorado, reached out to him to get a video made,” Sawyer said. “Malcolm Walker brought that opportunity to me saying that he sent the film to University of Colorado coaches and that the coaches loved this film and wanted to get him on a visit.”
“He said, we have an opportunity to go, it’s going to be $225 per plane ticket for per person and then initially said that they — Colorado — was giving him a room that we could stay in,” Hamilton said. “And in order to do that, we just had to pay for the tickets. I said, ‘OK, fine.’”
Hamilton told FOX31 she paid him for plane tickets and a hotel room but there was no trip. Months later, she got her money back but filed a police report in her own Georgia county.
“The bigger picture for me is there were so many people and I think a lot of people are misunderstanding that nobody expects him to be able to get anybody committed to CU, but he’s making representations and Colorado did nothing to separate themselves from this guy,” Hamilton said. “I just really feel like if Colorado had said, ‘hey, this guy’s not affiliated with us’ and released some type of statement after they initially became aware of it, so many more people would have been protected.”
CU’s Athletics Department shared the following statement:
CU Athletics is aware of the allegations against Malcolm Walker, who has never been officially affiliated with nor in any way authorized to represent the university, the department, or the football program in any capacity. We encourage those impacted in this matter to contact their local law enforcement officials.
University of Colorado Athletics Department
FOX31 reached out to Walker using a number from Hamilton’s screen shots and received a number of replies. In one message he said, in part, “this has nothing to do with CU.” A screenshot was sent as proof of paying Hamilton back. In another message he said he plans to pay Sawyer back tomorrow and sent another screen shot of what he said was a refund for the alleged victim for the case out of Gainesville.
In several text messages, Walker defended his character.
“People will use me as much as they can until they feel like it’s not working anymore,” Walker said in a text message. “I never had a record in my life. I’m only one man who tries to use my connections to get kids exposure.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
