BOSTON » Former NFL cornerback Will Allen and his business partner are facing criminal charges for an alleged multimillion dollar Ponzi scheme involving loans to professional athletes.

Prosecutors and FBI officials in Boston say 36-year-old Allen, of Davie, Florida, and 55-year-old Susan Daub of Coral Springs, Florida, were arrested Friday morning on security fraud charges and appeared in federal court in Fort Lauderdale.

Allen played for the New York Giants, Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots. Federal regulators filed civil fraud charges against Allen and Daub in April.

A lawyer for Allen and Daub didn’t return a message Friday, and no one answered their home phones.

The civil charges allege Allen and Daub reaped more than $31 million by promising high returns to investors from funding loans to cash-strapped pro athletes.