Zion Williamson Sued Over Non-Payment of $2M Loan

The professional basketball career of Zion Williamson, who was once touted as the next big thing in the NBA, has not been going as well as originally planned. The oft-injured New Orleans Pelicans’ center has been a letdown on the court and now he is facing a lawsuit over a loan that has not been paid back.

According to The Associated Press, Williamson and several of his immediate family members are being sued by a California-based technology company. Ankr PBC, a company that specializes in blockchain-related technologies filed a civil lawsuit earlier this week in U.S. District Court in New Orleans. In the paperwork filed, the company claims that Williamson, his stepfather, Lee Anderson, and his mother, Sharonda Sampson haven’t paid back $1.8 million of a $2 million loan given to them by Ankr PBC.

Ankr alleges that it made the loan two years ago in September 2021. The company was trying to establish a marketing relationship with the NBA player. They were hoping that Williamson could become a spokesperson for the company.

The company also states that Anderson acted as Williamson’s business manager and required an initial payment of $150,000 to start negotiating a potential business relationship with his stepson.

“Based on Williamson’s statements to Ankr, Ankr reasonably believed that Anderson possessed the authority to negotiate business arrangements for Williamson,” the lawsuit stated.

Meanwhile, Ankr named Sampson as a defendant, in part because the company wired money into her account. they did so at her urgency as she allegedly told them that the family urgently needed a “bridge loan” to cover investment obligations.

“Anderson represented that the loan was urgently needed, as the family had taken on expensive investments including the purchase of certain real estate in New Orleans, and could not meet their obligations due to the temporary suspension of payments from Williamson’s sponsorship deals resulting from an injury,” the lawsuit stated.

The loan was supposed to be paid back by August 21, 2022, but Anderson requested several extensions. When Ankr finally got a payment, it was only for $25,000, and it bounced. Last April, a forbearance agreement was made between the parties and the company agreed not to sue if it received repayment of $500,000 by April 25 and then the rest of the loan by July 6.

The $500,000 was received as scheduled, but about $300,000 of that covered interest, and they have yet to pay back the remaining $1.8 million.

Zion Williamson and Family Sued Over Non-Payment of $2M Loan from Tech Company