Lonzo Ball has reportedly cut ties with Big Baller Brand part owner (and best friend of LaVar Ball) Alan Foster due to allegations of embezzlement.
According to reports, Foster took $1.5 million from Ball’s personal and business accounts and could not account for that money.
Here are details from the L.A. Times:
Gregory Alan Foster was accused by Ball’s financial planner, Humble Lukanga, of taking money from Big Baller Brand and general mismanagement of the Lakers point guard’s finances. ESPN reportedly has seen documentation that Foster took $1.5 million from Ball’s personal and business accounts and could not account for that money. The Times has not seen any such documentation.
In a statement provided to The Times, Ball said he directed Lukanga, his manager Darren Moore and his agent Harrison Gaines to “pursue all options to recover the money that was taken from my accounts. This has been a very difficult decision as I have a great deal of love and respect for Alan. But the time has come for me to take responsibility for my own career.”
According to people familiar with the situation, Ball is considering legal action, but no decision has been made.
Foster did not respond to numerous phone calls and text messages requesting comment. Lukanga, a Beverly Hills-based business manager whose clients include athletes and entertainers, and Moore also declined to comment.
Foster was convicted of mail fraud and money laundering in 2002 along with a partner named Steven Woods, according to court documents reviewed by The Times. Foster and Woods told investors they had professional athletes as clients as a way to legitimize their business. Foster was found to have defrauded 75 people of $4 million and forced to pay back nearly all of it. Foster was sentenced to 87 months in prison and served five years.
