It looks like Malik Beasley, the NBA star, is in some serious financial trouble. Reports are saying that part of his paycheck from the Pistons has been seized to offset debts owned landlord, dentist, lender, barber. And get this, he’s also been investigated by the FBI over $8 million wire fraud, betting, gambling and more.
We all love a good NBA scandal, but this one seems like it’s going to be chaotic. Beasley has been in the news before for various reasons, but this is definitely a new low for him. It’s always wild to see these athletes getting caught up in shady stuff, but hey, that’s part of the game!
The court records and details about a years-long history of financial problems are emerging as FBI agents conduct an investigation involving Beasley that is focused on wire fraud, gambling and prop bets. Beasley, who has signed NBA contracts worth more than $59 million during his career, has not been charged with wrongdoing, but the Pistons have pulled back on a three-year, $42 million offer amid the FBI investigation involving the free agent, according to a source familiar with the offer who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the matter.
Beasley was sued in April by Hazan Sports Management Group Inc., a boutique New York-based agency. The firm accused Beasley of failing to repay $650,000 in cash that was given to him as an advance against future marketing revenue from his name, image and likeness, according to a federal complaint obtained by The News.
Hazan made “a substantial investment of time, effort, and resources in a player with known issues (including and especially financial issues)…when they took him on as a client and provided him with a substantial marketing advance in anticipation of helping Beasley become one of the premier players at his position,” the lawsuit reads.
Beasley fired the firm in February, the lawsuit alleges.
“In the ensuing weeks following Beasley’s termination, (Hazan) made several attempts to collect the full amount of the marketing advance but received little more than drips and drabs of sporadic payments and vague promises to repay the balance over time,” Hazan lawyer Daniel Marcus wrote in the lawsuit.
Beasley was served with a copy of the lawsuit at The Ritz-Carlton New York, NoMad hotel in New York City on April 21, but has not responded to the lawsuit. That night, Beasley scored nine points as the Pistons beat the New York Knicks 100-94 in Game 2 of their playoff series.
The lawsuit was filed in a federal court in New York more than three years after a company that specializes in loaning money to professional athletes won a nearly $5.8 million judgment against Beasley in Maryland, court records show. The company, South River Capital, LLC, has loaned more than $250 million to athletes in recent years.
A copy of the judgment was filed in Minnesota in 2022 when Beasley was playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
It is unclear why Beasley borrowed money from South River Capital but court records show part of the debt — $1.13 million — was satisfied in early 2023.
“It is very common for professional athletes to go to third-party lenders and get advances on contracts. It’s a part of the business of professional sports,” Haney told The News. “Many of these lenders are predatory and charge extremely high interest rates and outrageous fees that border on usury.”
In March, Beasley was sued in Detroit’s 36th District Court for failing to pay $14,150 in rent at The Stott. The historic high-rise apartment building in downtown Detroit is owned by Bedrock Detroit, the real estate arm of the business empire built by Dan Gilbert, who owns the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers.
In January, a celebrity barbershop with a long roster of NBA stars won a $26,827 judgment against Beasley. The barbershop, Cairo Cuts, operates in Milwaukee, where Beasley played for the Milwaukee Bucks from 2022-24.
The judgment marked a falling out from spring 2024 when Beasley was featured in one of the barber’s Instagram feeds. One post showed Beasley in the barber chair with a caption touting how he was “playoff ready.”
Meanwhile, in January, a Minnesota dentist won a $34,390 default judgment against Beasley, according to court records. The dentist, Hassan Alshehabi of Delicate Smiles, started garnishing Beasley’s paychecks from the Pistons in February, court records show.
Don’t ever forget that Beasley left his wife and kid to date his teammates’ mom Larsa Pippen, been arrested for throwing his wife under the bus and left his wife and kid again for an IG model
We’ll definitely be keeping an eye on this story as it unfolds. Who knows what other twists and turns will come out of this mess. We are hoping Malik comes out of this deep financial situation.
