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The Los Angeles Rams were hit with a fraud lawsuit last week alleging team owner Stan Kroenke and his lawyer “devised” a “devious and deliberate scheme” to make money off fans through the sale of personal seat licenses at SoFi Stadium.
The complaint was filed on behalf of Dwight Manley, a renowned coin collector and former agent of Dennis Rodman. Manley’s attorney, Christopher L. Pitet, told Front Office Sports that others have contacted his firm over similar issues since Defector first reported on the lawsuit.
“Certainly there could be a legal action that involves more than just Dwight Manley,” Pitet said. “There may be five others. There may be a hundred. We just don’t know the magnitude at this point. But we do know that there are other folks that are claiming to be in a situation that is similar to Mr. Manley’s and we intend to follow up with those folks.”
Pitet said beyond the text message attached to the lawsuits, there are others in his possession.
“The alleged false statements are in writing,” Pitet said.
Manley remains on the hook for the PSLs at a total cost of nearly $1 million. Attempts to get the roughly $70,000 he’s already paid back from the Rams were not fruitful, according to Pitet.
PSLs are typically used to finance new venues, with the Carolina Panthers believed to be the first major sports franchise to employ the practice. They usually give the customer a right to purchase season tickets, often for the most desirable seats.
‘False Representations’
The lawsuit states a Rams employee who sold Manley six PSLs “made false representations and promises” and is accompanied by a handful of text exchanges.
- Manley alleged the employee told him that he could sell his PSLs on a team marketplace. The Rams’ website states such transactions are “not available at this time.”
- The Rams employee allegedly told Manley could “cancel at any time,” but the agreement states that PSLs purchasers have to continue payments even if they no longer want the licenses.
The Rams, who settled a PSL lawsuit with fans in St. Louis in 2019, declined comment when reached by FOS.
“While Mr. Manley did not purchase the licenses to make a profit, he did not buy them to lose 100% of the license fee either. Mr. Manley was told that he could sell them at any time in a ‘marketplace’ that they still have not opened as promised,” Pitet said. “As a result, the Rams are able to sell more seat licenses for themselves while existing license holders are ‘locked out.’”
