“Dr. J” Julius Erving has had his share of off-court affairs go public, notably an affair with a sportswriter that resulted in a daughter. But his latest scandal is considerably more disheartening to the image fans have of Erving as a statesman for the game.
The New York Post reports:Legendary basketball player Julius Erving is being sued for allegedly cheating a wealthy Manhattan woman out of more than $420,000 in a deal with crooked money manager Kenneth Starr.
Mary Gilbert’s suit -- which charges Erving with breach of contract and fiduciary duty -- seeks payment of all her lost profits, along with “prejudgment interest” and punitive damages.
Gilbert, 71, says she met the Hall of Fame hoopster in 1990 through Starr, who hooked her while amassing a roster of clients that included such celebs as Uma Thurman, Martin Scorsese and Sylvester Stallone.
via Manhattan woman sues Dr. J, saying he cheated her out of $420K - NYPOST.com.
Erving’s partner in Commonwealth Investors is awaiting March sentencing for a $50 million Ponzi scheme, which doesn’t seem to make this sound like a crackpot lawsuit. Commonwealth Investors netted Erving over $2.9 million over 15 years. Defrauding someone is bad enough. Defrauding a 71-year-old woman is just downright despicable, should the suit result in a favorable ruling for the plaintiff.
And now, to distract you from how depressing this is, the greatest Dr. J commercial ever.