Police detectives in Georgia have secured a warrant for the arrest of former Tennessee walk-on football player Grant Frerking on a charge of theft by deception related to a stream of business promises that went undelivered and were first reported by Knox News in June.
Frerking is making arrangements to turn himself into authorities in his native state, Roswell Police Department spokesman Tim Lupo told Knox News on July 3.
Investigators in both the Milton and Roswell Police Departments, outside of Atlanta, are investigating whether Frerking, 26, defrauded residents in a scheme to take payment for pine straw that was never delivered.
Frerking’s tale unraveled spectacularly. The self-described student millionaire allegedly scammed customers of his pine straw company and racked up substantial unpaid debts. He was evicted from two apartments in a swanky Nashville neighborhood where he ran up nearly $16,400 in unpaid debts.
Frerking was the former CEO and founder of Metro Straw, which he launched as a teenager in the metro Atlanta area and expanded across the Southeast before leaving the company in 2021, according to his LinkedIn profile. The company posted a message on its website this spring warning would be customers about Frerking’s scams.
Multiple people told police they were scammed by Frerking
Milton resident Philip Nickerson filed a police report June 6 asserting he paid Frerking $778.50 to put down pine straw at his home as an advance payment, but Frerking never showed, he told police.
“Philip stated that on three separate occasions he attempted to contact Grant about the job,” the police report said. “Each time (05/27/2025, 05/29/2025, 06/06/2025) Grant stated he would come by and complete the job. As of this report on 06/06/2025, the service has not been completed.”’
Similarly, Roswell resident Jeff Hamling filed a report asserting Frerking defrauded him and more than 10 neighbors earlier this spring.
Hamling paid in full, he said, because Frerking promised a 10% discount if they paid in full. He lost $1,400.
“He responded to a text in five minutes,” Hamling said. “I never sat there and thought ‘Hey, I got ghosted.’ He said I’ll be in touch in a week or so with an install date. I didn’t think anything of it.”
But several weeks and a dozen excuses later, no work had been done, Hamling said.
Hamling has since received $500 back from Frerking but doesn’t expect to get any more.
Several other residents spoke with Knox News about work Frerking was paid to do but never completed.
How Frerking got here
Frerking was a Vols walk-on wide receiver from 2017-22. He gained attention because of his claimed business successes of Metro Straw, which he launched as a teenager. The Athletic documented Frerking’s success in a November 2018 story.
Frerking left Metro Straw in July 2021, according to his LinkedIn bio, shortly after graduating from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville with a bachelor’s degree in supply chain management and just before being hired by On3, a Nashville-based sports media company that covers teams, recruiting and NIL pay for college athletes. Frerking resigned from On3 May 27.
Knox News reported on June 12 that Frerking was a part-time consultant to UT football since July 2023, employed by the university while carrying out financial scams related to his former business and facing civil claims for unpaid bills, documents provided by UT revealed.
His duties included advising coach Josh Heupel on off-field matters, consulting staff members on best practices and representing the Vols program at public events.
Tyler Whetstone is an investigative reporter focused on accountability journalism. Connect with Tyler by emailing him at tyler.whetstone@knoxnews.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @tyler_whetstone.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Arrest warrant issued for arrest of former Vol Grant Frerking