New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees was reportedly scammed out of millions by a San Diego jeweler, Vahid Moradi, according to TMZ Sports.
The report states that Brees has spent roughly $15 million in jewelry from Moradi over the years, including that expensive ring, watches and earrings. However, Brees claims he recently had his jewelry independently appraised and was told his collection is worth $9 million less than he paid.
As a result, the 39-year old QB has filed a lawsuit against Moradi, who runs the CJ Charles jewelry shop in San Diego. In the suit, Brees says Moradi led him to believe the jewelry was a solid investment that would go up in value over the years, and feels he was lied to the entire time. He is seeking $9 million in damages.
Among the biggest hits was a 4.09 carat blue diamond ring he bought in 2015 for $8.18 million, which was reportedly appraised for only $3.75 million.
Despite Brees' accusations, Moradi's high-powered attorney, Eric M. George says the QB is just trying to "bully" his client.
"Drew Brees aggressively purchased multi-million dollar pieces of jewelry. Years later, claiming to suffer ‘cash flow problems,’ he tried to bully my client into undoing the transactions."
"Mr. Brees’s behavior and his belief that he was wronged because the jewelry did not appreciate in value as quickly as he hoped both demonstrate a lack of integrity and contradict basic principles of both economics and the law."
"He should restrict his game-playing to the football field, and refrain from bullying honest, hard-working businessmen like my client."