Lonzo Ball covers Big Baller Brand tattoo after firing company co-founder

Lonzo Ball’s family apparel brand could be on the verge of folding after a partner was dismissed from the company amid claims that $1.5 million went missing from the second-year Los Angeles Lakers guard’s personal and business bank accounts

Lonzo Ball’s forearm is no longer a billboard for his family’s apparel company.

The Los Angeles Lakers guard covered the Big Baller Brand logo that was tattooed on his right forearm with a pair of dice days after ESPN reported that company co-founder Alan Foster had been dismissed when $1.5 million allegedly went missing from Ball’s personal and private bank accounts.

The new ink was revealed on Instagram by tattoo artist Herchell L. Carrasco.

‘Covered up the “BBB” tattoo today,’ Carrasco wrote on Instagram. ‘Roll with the winners @Zo (Ball’s Instagram handle).’ 

The second-year player told ESPN that the man, Foster, ‘used his access to my business and personal finances to enrich himself. As a result, I have decided to sever all ties with Alan, effective immediately.’

According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, the Ball family spent the weekend discussing the brand’s future, and they are considering folding that and anything associated with Foster.

It was Ball’s financial advisor, Hunble Lukanga, who originally noticed that funds went missing amidst transactions between the Big Baller Brand and Foster’s company, Marathon Consulting Inc.

The new ink was revealed on Instagram by tattoo artist Herchell L. Carrasco. 'Covered up the "BBB" tattoo today,' Carrasco wrote on Instagram. 'Roll with the winners @Zo'

The new ink was revealed on Instagram by tattoo artist Herchell L. Carrasco. ‘Covered up the “BBB” tattoo today,’ Carrasco wrote on Instagram. ‘Roll with the winners @Zo’

According to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, the Ball family spent the weekend discussing the brand's future, and they are considering folding that and anything associated with Alan Foster (right). Family patriarch LaVar Ball (left) has said it was Foster's idea to launch the Big Baller Brand rather than have Lonzo, and eventually his younger brothers LaMelo and LiAngelo, sign with Nike, Adidas or another shoe and apparel company

According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, the Ball family spent the weekend discussing the brand’s future, and they are considering folding that and anything associated with Alan Foster (right). Family patriarch LaVar Ball (left) has said it was Foster’s idea to launch the Big Baller Brand rather than have Lonzo, and eventually his younger brothers LaMelo and LiAngelo, sign with Nike, Adidas or another shoe and apparel company

‘Over $1.5 million dollars has disappeared and he has wired over $474,000 to himself through Marathon Consulting (see attached report),’ Lukanga wrote in an email to the Ball family. ‘So close to $2 million dollars has touched Alan’s hands but $1.5 million of it has disappeared in cash and can’t be tracked.’

LaVar Ball, the company’s CEO, Lonzo’s father and a longtime friend of Foster’s, told ESPN the news was ‘devastating.’ 

On Monday, Lonzo Ball’s manager Darren Moore posted a video on Twitter of himself tossing one of the brand’s sneakers down a trash chute. The video has since been taken down.

Foster owns 16.3 percent of the family’s Big Baller Brand and has also managed the Ball’s other companies. He met the Balls about a decade ago through his son, who became friends with Lonzo Ball in seventh grade.

LaVar Ball, the family patriarch, has said it was Foster’s idea to launch the Big Baller Brand rather than have Lonzo, and eventually his younger brothers LaMelo and LiAngelo, sign with Nike, Adidas or another shoe and apparel company.

In the lengthy report released on Friday, ESPN said it reviewed documents and correspondence, including communication from Lonzo’s financial adviser, Lukanga, who said that neither the tax returns of the player or the company could be filed because of the $1.5 million in question. The network said Lonzo had told his father several times that he was concerned by Foster’s dealings but that LaVar said he would handle things.

Lonzo Ball's manager Darren Moore posted a video on Twitter in which he tossed a pair of Big Baller Brand sneakers in the trash. The video has since been taken down

Lonzo Ball’s manager Darren Moore posted a video on Twitter in which he tossed a pair of Big Baller Brand sneakers in the trash. The video has since been taken down

Despite the warnings of the past few months, LaVar did not review all of the relevant communications until this last weekend, according to ESPN.

‘Regretfully, I put my complete trust in Alan Foster to manage my son’s business affairs,’ LaVar said. ‘At the end of the day, family comes first, and I support Zo wholeheartedly. Together, we will make this right.’

Foster initially agreed to arrange to meet with ESPN to give his side of the story, but then put it off, saying he was ‘super busy.’

It wasn’t immediately clear if police in Southern California are investigating Foster in this case, but he does have a criminal record.

ESPN said federal court documents showed that Foster was sentenced to more than seven years in prison in 2002 after pleading guilty to one count of mail fraud and two counts of money laundering. He also was ordered to pay restitution of $3.7 million to the 70 victims of the crime.

Lonzo, 21, said he was unaware of that prison sentence.

Foster has two other marks on his criminal record: a conviction in 1999 for carrying a concealed handgun without a license, and in 2009, a five-month prison sentence after being arrested for an unspecified violation of his supervised release in the 2002 case.

Big Baller Brand's ZO2, which is Lonzo Ball's sneaker, came with a $495 price tag

Big Baller Brand’s ZO2, which is Lonzo Ball’s sneaker, came with a $495 price tag 

Lonzo’s personal manager, Moore, issued a statement regarding Foster this week.

‘Alan Foster was more than a trusted adviser,’ Moore said. ‘He was a mentor, a father figure and someone Lonzo and I respected, loved and listened to. … I’m proud of Lonzo for waking up and taking back his power. Together, we will fight for justice.’

Lonzo said in his statement to ESPN that he has put together a team of trusted advisers to further investigate the matter.

‘This has been a very difficult decision as I had a great deal of love and respect for Alan,’ Lonzo said. ‘But the time has come for me to take responsibility for my own career both on and off the court.’

The Ball men were local celebrities in Southern California as Lonzo became a high school star and later started at UCLA as a freshman.

LiAngelo Ball (right) ignited an international incident when he and two UCLA teammates got caught stealing sunglasses during a team trip to China in November of 2017

LiAngelo Ball (right) ignited an international incident when he and two UCLA teammates got caught stealing sunglasses during a team trip to China in November of 2017 

Ball has struggled with injuries in his second season, and currently has the NBA's worst free throw percentage (41.7 percent) of any player with at least 20 attempts

Ball has struggled with injuries in his second season, and currently has the NBA’s worst free throw percentage (41.7 percent) of any player with at least 20 attempts 

After Lonzo was drafted by the Lakers with the second pick of the 2017 NBA Draft, LiAngelo became an international celebrity when he was caught stealing a pair of sunglasses with his fellow UCLA freshman teammates during a team trip to China in November of that year.

LiAngelo was ultimately allowed to leave China and return home, before he and youngest brother LaMelo signed professionally in Lithuania.

Ultimately LaVar pulled both brothers off the team, which wasn’t a surprise given his history of meddling with his sons’ amateur and professional careers.

LaVar quarreled with several of his sons’ coaches at Chino Hills High School in California before publicly criticizing UCLA’s Steve Alford during his oldest son Lonzo’s only collegiate season.

LaVar would go on to disparage Lonzo’s current coach with the Lakers, Luke Walton, claiming his players did not want to play for him.

Lonzo Ball has struggled with injuries during his second NBA season, and currently has the NBA’s worst free throw shooting percentage (41.7 percent) of any player with at least 20 attempts. 

LaMelo, playing against adults for the first time in his life, averaged just 6.5 points in 12 minutes a game for BC Prienu Vytautas. The teenager is now back in the U.S.

LaMelo, playing against adults for the first time in his life, averaged just 6.5 points in 12 minutes a game for BC Prienu Vytautas. The teenager is now back in the U.S. 

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