Buster has been busted.
More than one year after becoming a wanted fugitive in Durham Region, a former NFL star was arrested in Georgia on Wednesday.
Retired defensive back Darryl “Buster” Skrine was booked on a total of 18 charges, including deposit account fraud, identity fraud, financial transaction card fraud, theft by taking, and criminal attempt to commit theft, according to police in Roswell, Ga.
The case in Canada over which he became a fugitive is unrelated.
Police allege that Skrine, 36, targeted three women, each located in a different U.S. state, through dating apps and asked them for money, claiming that he had financial issues and promising to repay them using his NFL annuity.
Skrine allegedly then used the women’s money to “support his lavish lifestyle, including financing Airbnbs, travel, and gift cards.”
Police estimated that the former NFLer collected roughly US$300,000 from the women and believe there are more alleged victims.
Skrine has been wanted by police in Canada since May 2024 after he was first arrested by Durham Regional Police on numerous fraud-related charges on Aug. 9, 2023 at Pearson Airport while allegedly arranging to travel back to the United States.
It’s alleged he went to banks in Durham Region, identified himself as a retired NFL player while opening accounts with fraudulent cheques, and withdrew a portion of the money before those cheques cleared.
Skrine was released on C$20,000 bail from an Oshawa court on Aug. 17, 2023.
His release conditions required him to wear a GPS ankle monitoring device and to remain in Ontario unless he had to attend other court appearances outside of the province.
Skrine was transferred on April 9, 2024, from an Ontario Correctional Centre to a Saskatchewan Correctional Centre to face additional fraud charges, Const. Nicholas Gluckstein said in a statement.
“On Friday, April 12, 2024, the accused was granted bail from a Saskatchewan Correctional Centre, with conditions to abide by a GPS monitoring program and return to Durham Region to attend court,” he added.
Police said Skrine failed to attend his court date and his GPS monitor went offline.
Roswell police said Wednesday that they are working with Canadian authorities “to ensure Skrine answers for all of his charges in both countries.”
Skrine entered the NFL as a fifth-round pick by Cleveland in 2011. He played four seasons with the Browns before signing a four-year $25-million deal with the New York Jets in 2015.
He later joined the Chicago Bears for two years and made appearances for the San Francisco 49ers and Tennessee Titans before leaving the NFL in 2021.
–With files from Chris Doucette