Darren McFadden, a former University of Arkansas football player and current Dallas Cowboys running back, is suing his former business manager, alleging the Little Rock man unethically deprived him of about $15 million in cash and assets.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in federal court in Little Rock against Michael Vick, a longtime friend of the McFadden family and not the former NFL quarterback of the same name who went to prison for his role in a dogfighting scandal.
Vick couldn't be reached for comment Thursday, but The Associated Press reported that he said he hadn't seen the lawsuit and declined to comment. In a 2008 article in ESPN The Magazine, Vick, whom McFadden's agent referred to as the player's "money guy," said he grew up two blocks away from the McFadden family.
The 18-page lawsuit refers to Vick as "an unscrupulous business manager and financial advisor who not only commandeered and misappropriated millions of dollars from his client, but habitually neglected and mishandled [his] most fundamental duties" to McFadden.
The lawsuit says that while working as an agent for Ameriprise Financial Services Inc. in 2008, Vick claimed he had specialized expertise in the professional sports industry to persuade McFadden, who was drafted that year by the Oakland Raiders, to let him manage all of the football player's earnings and income.
It alleges that Vick went on to convert a "substantial" portion of McFadden's assets "for his own personal use and gain," and fabricated transactions, records and spreadsheets to conceal his actions, which the suit describes as both "theft" and "mismanagement."
McFadden reportedly had a $60 million, six-year contract with the Raiders before joining the Cowboys in 2015 and signing a two-year deal worth up to $5.85 million.
No criminal charges have been filed against Vick, and the U.S. attorney's office has a policy of not commenting about any possible, former or ongoing criminal investigations.
The lead attorney for McFadden, Simran A. Singh of Beverly Hills, Calif., said Thursday that he hasn't sought prosecution by any law enforcement agencies and isn't aware of any criminal investigation.
The suit contends that Vick's actions began while he was an Ameriprise financial adviser and continued after Vick left the company in 2010 to become McFadden's personal adviser and business manager. The company confirmed that Vick was an Ameriprise adviser from 2002 through 2010, but declined to comment further.
The suit doesn't name Ameriprise as a defendant. Asked why, Singh said only, "We are going to be investigating their involvement further."
The suit states that when Vick left the company, he was no longer a registered or licensed adviser and that he managed McFadden's funds without the required licenses.
The defendants are identified as "Michael Vick, an individual, and DOES 1-10," indicating that it may be amended later as the identities of other parties become known.
Among some specific acts the suit accuses Vick of undertaking are persuading McFadden to execute a durable power of attorney, effectively appointing Vick as the player's agent in connection with his finances and real property, and authorizing him to withdraw funds from McFadden's accounts; and appointing himself as the manager of all businesses formed on behalf of McFadden, including a bitcoin mining venture through which Vick has invested about $3 million of McFadden's funds without paying any returns to McFadden.
The suit contends the irregularities were discovered when McFadden's representatives began scrutinizing Vick's reported transactions, including fabricated spreadsheets, prompting McFadden to revoke the power of attorney and fire Vick on May 15, 2015. Until then, the suit contends, McFadden was unaware that Vick was no longer affiliated with Ameriprise.
The lawsuit, assigned to U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker, seeks compensatory and punitive damages.
Asked about the case Thursday by The Dallas Morning News, McFadden said, "It's just one of those deals with me as a young guy, I wasn't on top of my finances like I should have been and I trusted somebody to take care of everything for me, and I don't feel like at the time he had my best interest."
Metro on 06/10/2016