Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield filed a federal lawsuit against a financial firm owned by his father, James Mayfield, accusing the company of failing to pay back nearly $12 million taken without his authorization.
The 29-year-old NFL star filed the civil lawsuit Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas for $11.7 million.
The suit alleges that from 2018 to 2021, Camwood Capital Management Group transferred more than $12 million from Mayfield and his wife “without his authorization, proper documentation, or adequate accounting of the transactions” to a subsidiary called Texas Contract Manufacturing Group.
Camwood allegedly used the money “however they desired,” the suit says, including to fund acquisitions or to cover general operating expenses.
“For the period of time that Plaintiffs’ funds were being funneled to Defendants, Plaintiffs were the primary source of funding and capitalization for Defendants. In exchange, Plaintiffs received nothing,” the suit says.
When Mayfield found out and questioned the company about it, Camwood allegedly avoided Mayfield’s inquiries and “invented fictional explanations for their actions,” according to the lawsuit.
Camwood did not immediately respond to an NBC News request for comment on Tuesday.
NBC affiliate WFLA-TV of Tampa reported that Camwood is owned by James Mayfield, and that his son, Matt Mayfield — Baker Mayfield’s brother — has a stake in it.
Attempts to reach James Mayfield and Matt Mayfield were unsuccessful. They are not named as defendants, but are listed in the lawsuit as members of the company.
In January, Baker Mayfield and the company entered into a settlement. Under the agreement, Camwood was required to repay $11.7 million plus interest beginning Sept. 30, the lawsuit states. The company also had to refinance an existing loan to free up capital to repay Mayfield, as well as provide him access to their books and records, the suit says.
The lawsuit, however, accuses Camwood of breaching the settlement agreement.
“It is now clear that Defendants had no intention of making Plaintiffs whole when they entered into the Settlement Agreement,” the lawsuit states. “To date, Camwood Capital has not repaid even one dollar under the Settlement Agreement, Defendants have failed to refinance their existing loan, and Defendants have not provided Plaintiffs with access to their books and records.”
The suit says that because Camwood has failed to follow through on the settlement agreement, Mayfield was left with no choice but to file a lawsuit.
