Mike Tyson thinks he got knocked out in an embezzlement scheme.
Tyson, along with former pro wrestler Ric Flair, submitted a lawsuit related to their former cannabis licensing company, Carma HoldCo Inc.
A 76-page lawsuit filed in Illinois on behalf of Tyson and Flair by their lawyers accused former Carma executives — Chad Bronstein, Adam Wilks and Nicole Cosby — of a RICO conspiracy involving criminal wire fraud, embezzlement, money laundering, extortion and securities fraud.
These claims are filed in civil court and would not require jail time, although the lawsuit seeks $50 million in damages and legal fees, and the plaintiffs’ lawyers have requested a jury trial.
“Throughout their time at CARMA, Bronstein and Wilks treated CARMA as their own personal piggy bank, using more than $1 million to pay for unauthorized personal travel on private jets, costs associated with Bronstein’s personal yacht, renovations to Bronstein’s personal residence, a mortgage payment for Wilks’ personal residence, and lavish entertainment expenditures for Wilks, including exorbitantly priced meals and travel expenditures, as well as excessive and unapproved compensation and bonuses,” a court filing obtained by The Post read.
Tyson and Flair have tapped a New York-based law firm, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, to represent their interests in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also claims that Bronstein bought Rams coach Sean McVay a watch with company funds, “unbeknownst to McVay.”
“In late 2020 or early 2021, Bronstein used company funds to purchase a watch for Los Angeles Rams Head Coach Sean McVay (‘McVay’),’” reads the filing.
‘Unbeknownst to McVay, this purchase was completed without company approval. Bronstein misappropriated approximately $15,000 worth of company funds to purchase the watch.”
In a statement to Front Office Sports, Wilks denied allegations in the lawsuit that included RICO predicates.
“These claims are as credible as the people they come from — in short, the allegations are without substance,” attorney Terry Campbell told the website.
“This is nothing more than an attempt to spit out an earful of salacious headlines and attempt to coerce my client into paying money to them when he did nothing wrong.”
Carma HoldCo previously filed a lawsuit against Bronstein after he left the company, alleging that their former president, along with Cosby, the former chief legal and licensing officer stole, the “Real American Beer” brand idea featuring the late Hulk Hogan.
Bronstein and Cosby’s attorneys also denied the accusations to Front Office Sports.
“The complaint is fiction dressed up as a lawsuit,” Jonathan Cyrluk said in a statement. “Before filing, the plaintiffs tried to intimidate my clients with settlement demands that read more like a shakedown than a legal claim — demanding millions of dollars and attempting to force others to surrender their Carma shares.”
Carma contended that both executives broke their employment agreements by exploiting marketing strategies to fast-track the new beer brand with Hogan as the poster boy.
Tyson previously claimed that promoter Don King cheated him out of $14 million and had “skimmed” fight purses from 1988.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
