Ex-USC linebacker Abdul-Malik McClain of Orange County dodges prison in COVID benefits scheme

Former USC linebacker Abdul-Malik McClain was sentenced Tuesday to time already served and ordered to pay $228,995 in restitution for his role in a scheme that fraudulently sought more than $1 million in COVID-related unemployment benefits.

McClain, 26, recently of Coto de Caza in Orange County, was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Otis Wright II to serve two years’ supervised release. He pleaded guilty in June 2024 to one count of felony mail fraud, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.