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Lonzo Ball and his dad, LaVar Ball, are part of a new lawsuit from Big Baller Brand’s co-founder Alan Foster, which alleges that LaVar embezzled $2.5 million and exploited his three boys to gain personal fame and fortune. As the perceived demise of the brand continues — and the ugly situation between the Ball family and Foster rages on — it’s interesting to see some of the allegations come out.
LaVar Ball has been sued by his ex-business partner Alan Foster, per @TheBlastNews
Alan Foster is accusing Lavar Ball of embezzling over $2.5M from the family-owned companies and ‘exploiting his own children for personal wealth and fame’
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 3, 2019
One of the more detailed allegations from Alan Foster filed in the countersuit is that Lonzo Ball sold game-worn items from his UCLA Bruins days for roughly $80,000 — which included his jersey during the team’s Sweet Sixteen game against Kentucky — with the money used as part of a down payment for a Mercedes AMG G-Wagon. Lonzo only played one year for the program before leaving for the NBA, and had tons of hype around him in the short stint.
In addition to the allegations of profiting off his merch, Foster said that he provided the Ball family a gigantic loan of $130,000 to cover Lonzo’s living expenses while in college because the player was upset with living in the school’s dorms.
Per The Blast, via Lonzo Wire:
In the suit, Alan says he “loaned to LaVar, Tina and Lonzo hundreds of thousands of dollars from his personal savings for various things, including over $130,000 on Lonzo’s living expenses.”
“During Lonzo’s first semester at UCLA, he complained to LaVar and Alan that his dorm room had poor air conditioning and he hated UCLA’s meal plan,” the documents state.
So, Foster says, “Lonzo and LaVar asked Alan if he would rent an apartment or condominium for Lonzo, pay for Lonzo’s personal trainer…including furnishings and laptops. Plus, pay for Lonzo’s food bills.”
In addition to the claims above, Alan Foster also detailed allegations of LaVar Ball embezzling $2.5 million for his “extravagant lifestyle” while also misleading Lonzo Ball on missing funds — which Lonzo had previously claimed Foster stole from him in the amount of $1.5 million.
The Big Baller Brand dilemma is messy and sad. And, while there’s sure to be more details and allegations coming out as Alan Foster and the Ball family duke this thing out, hopefully it gets resolved sooner rather than later so that Lonzo Ball and his younger brothers can focus on basketball and avoid distractions.