Zion Williamson, 23,안전놀이터has added a lawsuit to his list of offseason scandals.
According to the Associated Press, Zion, his mother and stepfather were sued on Monday morning (Aug. 28) for failing to repay $1.8 million of a $2 million loan to a California-based tech company.
Ankr PBC, a company focused on “blockchain-related technologies used for finance and data storage,” said it provided the loan to the Zaian family in September 2021.
At the time, the company sought to establish a marketing relationship with Williamson, who was drafted first overall in the 2019 NBA Draft, in hopes that he could serve as a spokesperson for Ankr. In return, Ankr helped Zion at several events and provided him with a personal chef and physical trainer.
Later, Lee Anderson, Zayn’s stepfather and business manager, asked for $150,000 upfront and promised to pay him back in August 2022.
“Anderson stated that the loan was urgently needed because the family had made expensive investments, including the purchase of certain real estate in New Orleans, but was unable to meet its obligations due to the temporary suspension of Zayn’s sponsorship agreement payments due to his injury,” Ankr said in the lawsuit.
After agreeing to an extension for various reasons, Ankr and Anderson entered into a deferral agreement in which the company agreed not to sue if the $500,000 was repaid by April 26, 2023. However, the unpaid amount was provided on July 7.
The bottom line is that Ankr received $500,000, but $300,000 of it was used to cover interest, leaving $1.8 million unpaid. In addition, Zayn’s mother, Sharonda Sampson, was also named as a defendant in the lawsuit, reportedly in part because Ankr wired money to his account.
Meanwhile, Zayn announced his girlfriend’s pregnancy last month, but he’s already been dogged by a scandal involving a former adult actress.