![]() ![]() John Elway, Eric Dickerson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are among the marquee names that have been shaken down. (Photo by John McDonnell/The Washington Post)įor athletes, financial fraud is practically an occupational hazard, akin to concussions and torn knee ligaments. Portis, who played nine seasons in the NFL, claims to have lost millions because of bad financial advice. “I get calls about it every day.”įormer Washington football running back Clinton Portis during a game against the Dallas Cowboys in 2010. ![]() Buzz! The new adviser for an NFL player wants to know how to “go after” his predecessor for leaving his client’s investments at “zero.” “This is definitely a growing business,” Carlson says. I will explain later.” Buzz! An insurance salesperson who works with a National Basketball Association star wants to talk. Buzz! An agent for a former first-round NFL draft pick has a tip: “Gave ur # to one of my Players & his gf. Over the two days we spend together in Miami in mid-February, I see some of the messages as they come across and others that have arrived since the beginning of the year. That, in turn, accounts for Carlson’s inability to enjoy a night out in relative peace - and his frequently vibrating mobile phone. He has become an expert on how and why athletes get duped, and something of a gossip clearinghouse for agents, accountants and others who suspect someone is stealing from the players they work with. Along the way, Carlson has seen athletes get bamboozled by smooth talkers and trust-me charmers, pouring cash into shady start-ups, bogus securities, an ill-conceived electronic bingo casino and an ill-fated nightclub that was run by the financial adviser who recommended the investment. Some of these settlements and judgments ( including that of Samuel, who could not be reached for comment) have been publicly reported others have not and still other cases ( including that of Haslem, who declined to comment) are ongoing. He has recovered, he says, nearly $9 million on behalf of his clients. The 34-year-old has carved out an unusual niche in the sports world: He’s the guy athletes hire to find their money when the people they’ve trusted to watch that money instead have made it disappear.Ĭarlson says that, over the past half-decade, he has represented more than 30 athletes - such as Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem and retired NFL cornerback Asante Samuel - who have lost fortunes by trusting inept or crooked advisers. When the NFL draft was held recently, a new group of athletes graduated to collecting six- and seven-figure paychecks odds are, at least a few of them will end up getting ripped off during their careers. “I ended up not even having a drink that night.” Was it now too late, the agent asked Carlson, for his former client to recover anything? “I told him I would look into it,” Carlson says. He used to refurbish and sell classic cars to athletes and eventually noticed they were getting bad financial advice. Investment fraud lawyer Chase Carlson in an auto body shop in Miami.
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