Former partner countersues Ball family for fraud, exposes $80K sale of UCLA jerseys
New Orleans Pelicans point guard Lonzo Ball allegedly sold his game-worn UCLA men’s basketball jerseys and shoes for $80,000. The accusation came in the form of a countersuit by his former manager and co-founder of Big Baller Brand, Alan Foster. (Michael Zshornack/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Sam Connon
Oct. 3, 2019 6:27 p.m.
The Ball family’s feuds have come back to Westwood.
Former UCLA men’s basketball player Lonzo Ball allegedly sold his game-worn Sweet 16 jerseys and shoes for $80,000, according to court documents obtained by The Blast on Thursday. The sale was brokered by Alan Foster – a co-founder of LaVar Ball’s family company, Big Baller Brand – and the profits were put towards a down-payment on a Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen.
Foster countersued the New Orleans Pelicans point guard and his father LaVar Ball on Wednesday, accusing them of fraudulent concealment and breach of contract. The Ball family had previously sued Foster in April for $2 million in damages, claiming he had embezzled millions of dollars to put towards private interests in Ethiopia.
In Foster’s countersuit, however, he claimed the Ball family had embezzled more than $2.6 million from the Big Baller Brand and its related companies. Foster also released information about Lonzo and LaVar Ball’s business deals while the former was enrolled at UCLA, according to the court documents.
In addition to allegedly selling his UCLA jerseys – which is currently against NCAA rules – Foster claimed in the countersuit that the Ball family also took out a loan with him during Lonzo Ball’s freshman season with the Bruins.
“During (Ball)’s first semester at UCLA, he complained to LaVar (Ball) and (Foster) that his dorm room had poor air conditioning and he hated UCLA’s meal plan,” the suit reads, according to EPSN. “Lonzo (Ball) and LaVar (Ball) asked (Foster) 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.”
The loan was worth $130,000, according to ESPN.
Foster was sentenced to seven years of prison for mail fraud in 2002, defrauding roughly $4 million from 70 investors – a fact the Ball family claims they were unaware of when he helped form Big Baller Brand.
