Woman, financial advisor stole millions from Ex-Dolphins safety Reshad Jones, police say
A woman is behind bars after Fort Lauderdale police say she and a financial advisor stole nearly $2.6 million from former Miami Dolphins safety Reshad Jones, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Octavia Graham, 52, surrendered herself to authorities June 30 following a warrant for her arrest. She faces a one charge of grand theft in the first degree.
Police say Jones, who played his entire 10-year career with the Dolphins, had originally hired Merrill Lynch financial advisor Isaiah Williams to look over his personal accounts. And from January 2022 to March 2024, that’s exactly what Williams did — in addition to funneling $1.58 million from Jones’ personal account to finance charges on his own American Express card. These charges included expensive vacations, car rentals, strip clubs, child support, car maintenance and designer clothes, according to court documents.
Between October 2019 and September 2021, an additional $1.03 million was also transferred from Jones’ account to that of Graham, per the affidavit. Jones, however, had never met Graham whom lived in Georgia at the time of her arrest.
Graham also wrote 16 checks as well as sent 88 Zelle transfers — the sum total of which was about $619,000 — to Williams. All of these transactions included Jones’ stolen money, police say.
The relation between Graham and Williams is unclear. Graham’s arrest documents also make no mention of Williams’ whereabouts. A search of Broward County jails showed that Williams wasn’t in custody while Graham remained in the Main Jail.
Williams has since been relieved of his duties at Merrill Lynch, according to Bank of America, as the financial institution intends to “fully cooperate with regulators and law enforcement” as well as “work with the client to compensate them for any harm caused by an employee.”
A statement from Jones’ attorneys Chase Carlson and Jeff Sonn called the incident “yet another troubling example” of a wealth management firm’s exploitation of a professional athlete.
“In this case, the wrongdoer was a Vice President at one of the world’s largest financial institutions — Bank of America’s investment management division, Merrill Lynch,” the statement read. “We have filed a lawsuit to hold Merrill Lynch accountable and are working to recover all damages our client has suffered.”
A fifth-round pick from the University of Georgia, Jones played from 2010 to 2019. He started roughly 88% of his career 128 NFL games, making two Pro Bowls along the way.
Jones retired with 21 interceptions, 10.5 sacks and 776 combined tackles. He also made around $58 million during his playing days, according to Spotrac.
This story was originally published July 7, 2025 at 10:35 AM.
