Former NFL running back LeShon Johnson has been charged with operating a large-scale dog fighting ring in Oklahoma, the Justice Department announced this week.
Johnson, 54, allegedly ran “Mal Kant Kennels” in both Broken Arrow and Haskell, Okla.
He’s accused of “possessing 190 pit bull-type dogs for use in an animal fighting venture” and of “selling, transporting and delivering a dog for use in an animal fighting venture,” the department said in a statement.
Johnson allegedly bred dogs that had won fights in order to create offspring with traits suitable for dog fighting. He also sold and marketed the offspring and the “stud rights” of his “champion” dogs, according to the feds.
“Federal authorities seized the 190 dogs from Johnson in October 2024 as authorized under the Animal Welfare Act. This is believed to be the largest number of dogs ever seized from a single person in a federal dog fighting case,” the DOJ said.
Johnson faces up to five years in prison for each of his charges, as well as a $250,000 fine
He previously ran another dog kennel in Oklahoma that led to a guilty plea on state animal fighting charges in 2004.
Johnson played college football at Northern Illinois and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 1994. He also played for the Arizona Cardinals and spent the 1999 season with the New York Giants.