David Beckham has filed a lawsuit against Mark Wahlberg and his associates, accusing them of defrauding him out of $10 million.
The former football star alleges that a fitness deal gone wrong resulted in substantial financial losses. The legal battle is raising discussions on social media.
Beckham's company, DB Ventures Ltd, agreed with Wahlberg's fitness brand, F45, where Beckham was expected to serve as a global ambassador.
However, according to Beckham's representatives, he was deceived into working with F45, leading to substantial monetary damages.
The lawsuit focuses on an important part of the agreement. Beckham's team claims he was guaranteed shares in F45.
But when it was time to transfer the shares in 2022, there was an unexpected delay.
In early 2022, F45 shares were valued at around $11, but they subsequently rose to $15 per share in February. However, by the middle of the year, the share price plummeted to a mere $4.
Beckham's representatives estimate that this delay in transferring the shares may have resulted in a staggering $10.5 million loss for him, considering the sharp decline in the stock's value.
In addition to suing Mark Wahlberg, Beckham's lawsuit includes Adam Gilchrist and Rob Deutsch, the founders of F45, as well as Wahlberg's business, the Mark Wahlberg Investment Group.
However, the defendants quickly responded by asking for the case to be thrown out. They claim that the allegations of fraud are unfounded and without any basis.
Beckham and golfer Greg Norman had initially filed a case together, but the judge decided that they should pursue their cases separately.
As the legal dispute progresses, the value of F45 shares continues to decrease, currently standing at only 15 cents per share.
Must've been his client from "no pain, no gain" movie, one user said.
Don't lawyers write contracts or do they just spend their time sueing each other because they don't write contracts? The second user asked.
Swear it was 8.5m about 3 hours ago, another commented.
Perfect example of how the rich and famous fighting over share prices of their companies, rather than talking about how to work together and develop their companies for the benefit of the employees, someone wrote.
