Dwayne Haskins widow names KC Chiefs tackle in $275k swindle

(CN) — The widow of NFL quarterback Dwayne Haskins Jr. claims in a new lawsuit that she was swindled out of almost $275,000 in a scheme by a Kansas City Chiefs player and his girlfriend.

Kalabrya Haskins accuses Kansas City Chiefs nose tackle Mike Pennel Jr. and his girlfriend, Keely “The Boss” Hill, of defrauding her in a dog-breeding scheme. She says the plan fell apart after her dog died at a kennel in the Dominican Republic.

In the suit, Haskins also accuses Hill of conspiring with a Kansas City-based business consultant, Adam Compo, to defraud her in other business ventures.

“Together and in concert, the Defendants conspired and formed an enterprise that swindled Haskins out of hundreds of thousands of dollars of cash, lost business opportunities, and Haskins’ family dogs, Brutus and Boujee,” Haskins states in her complaint.

Haskins’ attorney, Peter Koziol of the Miami law firm Assouline & Berlowe, filed the complaint Thursday in the Southern District of Florida. Haskins accuses the defendants of fraud, unfair business practices and violating federal credit repair laws, among other claims.

Hill and Pennel previously accused Haskins of defamation in a Sept. 25 lawsuit, but they withdrew the case just days later.

Dwayne Haskins Jr. was selected by the Washington Redskins (now the Commanders) in the first round of the 2019 draft after setting offensive records as quarterback for Ohio State University. He played for three seasons in the NFL before he was fatally struck by a truck the morning of April 9, 2022, on I-595 near Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

His family claimed in a wrongful death lawsuit that Haskins was drugged, robbed and extorted by several assailants before he was hit while standing drunk on the side of the highway.

Kalabrya Haskins met Hill in October 2023 through a friend and business associate, Haskins states in her lawsuit. Hill, a former promoter for Island Def Jam Music Group and actress on VH1’s “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta,” reportedly offered to become Haskins’ talent agent.

According to Haskins, Hill promised that she and Pennel could leverage their industry contacts to help the widow secure a record deal. Per the arrangement, Hill would also help transfer Haskins’ businesses to Florida and improve her credit score.

Pennel also offered to breed Haskins’ bulldogs, Brutus and Boujee, through BLK Caviar Bullies, a kennel he operated in the Dominican Republic, she said. Based on Pennel’s representations, Haskins estimated selling the puppies would earn her up to $200,000 in the first year and millions of dollars more in the following years.

Haskins shipped her dogs to the island nation in April. On June 5, Haskins learned that Boujee had died, she said in her lawsuit.

Haskins said she became suspicious of Hill after the talent agent told her to take out a $300,000 loan and use $70,000 from it to pay a person she did not know. Compo, who was hired on Hill’s advice to help promote Haskins’ clothing brands, began ghosting the widow after she began asking questions, Haskins claimed.

Haskins said she traveled to the Dominican capital of Santo Domingo on Aug. 15 to find Brutus and her puppies — but she said she soon discovered the address given to her for BLK Caviar’s facility was fake. Haskins next visited a veterinarian she believed had treated her dogs and cremated Boujee, but he told her the invoices were also fake.

Haskins claims Hill and Pennel threatened her if she did not stop investigating the whereabouts of her dogs. She said the defendants took at least $275,000 from her through the schemes.

In a suit of their own, for defamation, Hill and Pennel said that Boujee died from an illness before it was brought to BLK Caviar’s facility. On Aug. 7, Haskins called multiple veterinarians in the Dominican Republic, none of whom were used by BLK Caviar, and accused the company of stealing her dogs.

The accusations led to the arrest of BLK Caviar’s employee and the seizure of Brutus and four puppies, the couple said. Because no one could retrieve the dogs within 48 hours, they were either euthanized or given away by the authorities.

Hill and Pennel accused Haskins of falsely telling employees for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Kansas City Chiefs that Pennel had stolen her dog. They say she also falsely told Hill’s tax accountant that she was scammed.

Hill and Pennel withdrew their complaint on Sept. 27.

Attorneys for Hill and Pennell did not respond to requests for comment. Attempts to reach Compo were unsuccessful.

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