Imagine Finding Out You’re Missing $12.7 million
Usain Bolt becomes the latest celebrity allegedly duped by their Financial Manager.
GETTY IMAGES
An unfortunate story appears to be unfolding involving Usain Bolt, and his dough. Unlike similar stories, where Athletes were to blame for wasteful spending. Such as Mike Tyson’s famous appetite for anything expensive. In Bolt’s case, this is a result of his investment advisors.
By all available measures, Usain Bolt is one of the greatest sprinters, and athletes, ever. As the holder of multiple records, including the fastest 100-meter run in history (as well as the 2nd fastest time). Not to mention he holds 8 Olympic gold medals.
Courtesy of GQ
Like other contemporary athletes, Bolt has leveraged his impressive career to secure multiple partnerships with brands such as Puma, Gatorade, and Virgin Media.
Bolt’s on-the-track achievements and off-track activities have obviously resulted in multiple zero’s in his bank accounts. One such account recently found itself in the midst of controversy, mainly because of its missing 0’s. As of Halloween Night (2022), Bolt held an account with the investment firm Stock and Securities Limited (SSL), which had a balance of $12.7 million.
Apparently, that account has almost entirely disappeared as a former employee of the investment firm ran a fraudulent scheme, which siphoned off millions from the athlete’s account. The former employee alerted Bolt on January 11th, 2023 about the funds. As you can imagine, Bolt did not take the news well. He has subsequently filed a lawsuit against SSL after discovering the account only had $12,000 left…
$12.7 million to $12,000…I wouldn’t sleep for a month.
For SSL’s part, it claims to have discovered the fraud in early January and started notifying investors. The Financial Services Commission took control of the company temporarily, and has in the past called it a “problem institution”. How much of a problem institution is it? Well, a February 2017 agency report noted “a culture of non-compliance and mismanagement of client funds.” Why Bolt trusted millions to a firm with such a notable reputation is beyond me.
Unfortunately for Bolt, he joins a long line of athletes who have been duped, stolen from, or defrauded by seemingly savvy investment firms. Today, it’s unclear how this may be resolved but Bolt is pushing ahead with a lawsuit filed on January 16th, 2023. In his suit, he demands the account be reinstated with the missing money within 10 days. I’m not sure how much effort SSL is going to put into looking for the funds. But this story is another reminder, to trust but verify when it comes to your money folks.
Thanks for reading! Check out more articles and our social media below.
