Basketball agent Charles Briscoe has been sued for allegedly making false representations to Continuum Capital Ltd., which relied on those statements to help fund a startup agency called Icon Legacy Group in March 2021. The Complaint alleges that Briscoe represented to Continuum that he was the agent for Dwight Howard and was in the midst of completing a new contract for Howard, which would result in significant fees for the company.
Continuum claims to have agreed to invest up to $1.4 million in the startup based on the belief that Briscoe was about to collect on, at a minimum, the Howard contract. Briscoe also purportedly told Continuum that their startup basketball agency had signed former Oregon player Chris Duarte and that Icon Legacy Group would be due commissions from shoe deals related to Duarte and Howard. Continuum ultimately threw $900,000 into the business with the belief that there was a lot of promising movement.
“But in August 2021, Continuum discovered that Briscoe had lost (if he
ever had) Mr. Howard as a client,” states the Complaint. “In addition, Continuum discovered that Icon never received any of the proceeds that Briscoe claimed were forthcoming. Instead, Briscoe commandeered (or lied about) the compensation that was due from his representation of both Mr. Howard and Mr. Duarte.”
It says that, in August 2021, it learned that Howard was actually represented by Qais Haider and not Icon Legacy Group when ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted that information.
Furthermore, Continuum complains that it has never seen any money from Duarte’s NBA rookie contract or his shoe deal.
“Upon information and belief, Briscoe has misappropriated the earnings
from (a) the Howard Shoe Deal, (b) the Duarte Contract, and (c) the Duarte Shoe Deal in bad faith and for his own personal gain,” states the Complaint.
Continuum says that it demanded to be bought out of the startup sports agency and that Briscoe signed a document agreeing to pay a total of $900,100 in three scheduled payments ($100 to buy Continuum’s equity interest and $900,000 to make Continuum whole for its prior investment). Yet, Continuum has not received any payments as of the filing of its Complaint. All of the payments were due by November 29, 2021.
The lawsuit filed in Delaware asks for a minimum of $1 million as well as punitive damages and reimbursement for collection costs.