Courtesy of Benzinga.
Several prominent NFL players have filed suit against Branch Banking and Trust (NYSE: BBT), a North Carolina-based bank that has apparently cost 16 players near a collective $60 million.
According to Yahoo! Sports, the players are accusing BB&T of “allowing now-banned financial adviser Jeff Rubin and his employees at Pro Sports Financial to open accounts in their names and place tens of millions of dollars in dubious, unauthorized investments.”
Among those in suit is the recently retired Ray Lewis ($3.7 million) and All-Pro San Francisco 49er Frank Gore ($8.7 million), along with 14 other current and inactive NFL players.
BB&T had a revenue of $5.4 billion in 2012. Among the allegations, the bank allowed Rubin or his employees to open a number of “power of attorney” accounts for the players despite the players never executing a power of attorney for those accounts, and many unauthorized transactions that ended up becoming loans or transactions made on behalf of the players in a failed Alabama casino project.
The failed casino project accounts for about half of the $60 million.
Lawsuits between investors, players and agents are not uncommon in professional sports. There were a few just within the past year.
Former New York Yankees pitcher Jared Wright was the latest athlete to file suit against SunTrust (NYSE: STI) Bank, CSI Capital Management and the accounting firm Taylor & Faust for fraud, misrepresentation, negligence and other wrongful conduct, and is seeking to recover $7.5 million.
Two-time World Series champion Curt Schilling was sued by Citizens Bank for $2.4 million last summer, after the pitcher’s video game company, 38 Studios, filed for bankruptcy.
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