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Michael Rothstein
Multiple Authors
Boxer Floyd Mayweather is facing two felony charges alleging theft and “intent to defraud” by passing a bad check to purchase a $200,000 watch in Las Vegas, according to Nevada court records.
Mayweather was not present for a Clark County court hearing Monday and was instead represented by his counsel. Mayweather’s official charges are “theft, value $100,000 or greater” and “draw or pass check with intent to defraud, value $1,200 or greater.”
Clark County prosecutors filed an initial criminal complaint on April 27, according to court records obtained by ESPN, followed three days later by a court order that Mayweather appear before a judge. Monday’s appearance by his attorney apparently fulfilled that order.
The complaint alleges Mayweather wrote a $200,000 check from a Wells Fargo Bank account to Gold and Beyond, a high-end Las Vegas resale boutique, on Dec. 31, 2024. The complaint alleges Mayweather wrote the check when he “had insufficient money, property, or credit” in the account to pay it in full.
ESPN obtained a copy of the receipt for the Audemars Piguet watch that was purchased on Dec. 25, 2024.
The theft charge claims Mayweather wrote the check “in exchange for obtaining property or services” while “knowing that the check would not be paid when presented.” The complaint alleges Mayweather did this “knowingly, feloniously, and without lawful authority.”
If found guilty on the fraud charge, Mayweather could face one to four years in prison and up to a $5,000 fine plus restitution costs, according to Nevada state law. Felony theft carries prison terms of one to 20 years and up to $15,000 in fines.
Marc Cook, an attorney for Cook & Kelesis, which represents Gold and Beyond, told ESPN on Tuesday that his client filed the complaint with the Clark County District Attorney’s office in February.
“The reason for the delay is that my guy trusted Mayweather and was trying to give him every opportunity to make good on that,” Cook said. “And it got to the point where he wasn’t getting responses and wasn’t getting money for a watch that Mayweather had for well over a year.”
Cook said his client didn’t want to press charges against Mayweather in hopes of resolving the issue. Cook said his client attempted to go through every avenue possible but “got ignored.”
Mayweather’s attorney, Adrian Lobo, told ESPN in a statement Tuesday night that her client “had absolutely no intent to defraud” Gold and Beyond, that he had a long business relationship with the store’s owner before and after the alleged transaction, and that Gold and Beyond’s owner decided to take the claim to the Clark County District Attorney instead of filing a civil claim to resolve the dispute.
“This matter does not belong in the criminal courts,” Lobo wrote in the statement. “And Mr. Mayweather looks forward to being vindicated through the court proceedings.”
Lobo said in an email that Mayweather has no travel stipulations as part of the case and that his next court date is Sept. 17.
It is the latest in a litany of legal woes for Mayweather.
Plaintiffs in separate civil cases in at least four states allege Mayweather owes them money. The Internal Revenue Service has a tax lien of more than $7.2 million levied against Mayweather for unpaid taxes in 2018 and 2023. A Las Vegas-area gated community filed a separate lien of over $22,500.
The IRS declined comment about Mayweather’s lien, saying the agency cannot discuss or release tax information.
Mayweather is also the plaintiff in separate suits he brought earlier this year against Showtime for $340 million and his former business associates for $175 million. He alleged fraud and “aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty” in both civil cases.
Mayweather is scheduled to fight kickboxer Mike Zambidis in an exhibition on June 27 in Athens, Greece.
A source close to Mayweather told ESPN on Tuesday that Mayweather still has his passport and is expected to leave for Greece later this week. There was a threat of Mayweather’s passport being revoked at one point because of the IRS lien, the source said, but Mayweather’s tax attorneys have been working with the federal agency, and he will be able to go to Greece for the fight and then return.
