Shaquille O'Neal Seeks Over $1.3M In Damages Following Failed Partnership With Cannabis Company

In 2017, former pro basketball player Shaquille O'Neal and his business partner, Jerome Crawford invested $150,000 in Viceroy LLC cannabis company. Out of that total, O’Neal provided $100,000 and Crawford put up the remaining $50,000.

However, last year they sued the company for more than $1 million. According to the suit, the plaintiffs were under the impression that around December 2015, Daron Campbell, “acting through his entity Capital LLC, [Campbell] founded Viceroy to pursue opportunities in the field of legal cannabis.” Nevertheless, the company had no license, no revenue and no operations even by late 2017, per the lawsuit.

Campbell and Daron Campbell Capital apparently agreed to return the money by making monthly payments of $10,000. However, Campbell made one payment and the investors never received any additional money, reported the Green Market Report.

“Campbell had made no further payments as of September 30, 2019, but he reiterated his intent to do so on that date by stating in an email to O’Neal and his representatives,” reads the court document.

The last installment would have been due on Jan. 1, 2021, which means that the remaining sum is $130,000 plus 10% interest from the time each installment was due.

Currently, O'Neal and Crawford are suing to get back the remaining $130,000. 

What Does The Lawsuit Say?

The lawsuit argues that Campbell accepted his role in the failed investment as his emails conceded that he would return the money. Also, O’Neal and Crawford point out that Campbell agreed to return the entire $150,000 investment, which to them meant he acknowledged that this was in fact the original investment amount.

However, “plaintiffs cannot establish that there was a contract, much less one that is enforceable by the courts. Plaintiffs can not establish that any money was paid from plaintiffs to defendants. Plaintiffs also state that the alleged contract was to invest in a federally illegal product," said Campbell per Law360.

If the statute of limitations was considered, since the money-back agreement was mostly oral, the time to sue is only two years.

Nevertheless, the investors argued that it was instead a breach of contract giving them four years to sue. Payments were not made in 2019 and the case did not start until November 2021. Finally, the last court document was filed on December 19, 2022.

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Photo: Courtesy of MarkScottAustinTX via Wikimedia Commons