Would you want to owe this man almost half a million dollars?
Power Balance, the Orange County-based performance bracelet company that gained notoriety in the past couple years, filed for bankruptcy today in California, after multiple lawsuits accusing the company of misleading advertising.
The bankruptcy filing leaves Power Balance with a substantial list of creditors, the most notable being Blake Griffin (owed $20,000), the Sacramento Kings ($100,000), the Los Angeles Kings ($250,491), and one Kobe Bean Bryant ($400,000).
The company released a prepared statement Tuesday regarding the bankruptcy filing:
“Due to the unauthorized marketing tactics of an independent distributor in Australia and the proliferation of counterfeit operations of which we obviously have no control, Power Balance has become the target of number of class action lawsuits. Although we find the lawsuits to be baseless, they have cost the company millions of dollars in legal fees and continue to threaten the core business. The company has gone through extensive efforts to ensure that its marketing messages are supportable and compliant with local laws. However, lawsuits continue to surface against Power Balance at a tremendous cost to the organization.
“Power Balance cannot wait for these issues to resolve themselves or to go away. After many months of extensive legal analysis and exhaustive research, the company has determined that the only viable option at this time is to seek assistance available to us through bankruptcy laws and the protection of the courts.”
Let’s hope Power Balance gets their finances in order, and quickly, because Kobe (who reportedly offered to loan fellow NBA players cash during the lockout, doesn’t strike me as someone who sits idly with $400K out on the street with his name on it. And lord knows the Maloofs need every dime they can get right now.