Alan Foster, a co-founder of Big Baller Brand, has filed a lawsuit against LaVar Ball that says he embezzled $2.5 million from the company to fund his lifestyle, The Blast reported Thursday.
An excerpt from court documents obtained by The Blast reads:
"In early 2016, in furtherance of LaVar’s intense desire to share in, or rise above, the glory and spotlight of his sons, LaVar approached Alan and asked for his business guidance on how to monopolize and gain fortune and fame from the names and likenesses of his three sons. In response, Alan suggested that the two men brand the “Ball” family name in order to create basketball and entertainment-related businesses. LaVar loved Alan’s idea and wanted to make sure that he was the biggest star in the family, notwithstanding the fact that he was broke, had no savings, poor credit and zero business acumen … LaVar is a liar who fraudulently utilized BBB and BSG (Ball Sports Group) to fund his personal lifestyle."
The report says Ball used the money he embezzled to buy cars and make “upgrades to his home including, artificial turf, furniture, painting the home, carpet, redoing the swimming pool, custom BBB chandeliers, a home theater and new air conditioning.”
This latest lawsuit comes six months after Lonzo Ball, Lavar’s oldest son and member of the Pelicans, sued Foster for similar reasons. According to ESPN, Lonzo Ball said Foster embezzled millions for personal use and to “acquire assets in Ethiopia.”
Foster’s counterclaim states “LaVar intentionally misled Lonzo about Alan’s alleged theft of BBB funds in an effort to (a) cover up the fact that LaVar stole from, and continues to steal from, Ball Sports Group, Inc. (“BSG”) and Big Baller Brand, LLC (“BBB”), which he uses as his personal piggy banks.”
Lonzo was a big part of Big Baller Brand's launch in 2016 and wore the company's shoes to start his NBA career. He has since distanced himself from the brand and recently admitted that the "ZO2s" he played in with the Lakers weren't ready and it looked like his shoes had "exploded" after each game. He had to swap out the sneakers each quarter, but he insists he doesn't have any regrets about wearing them.
