California law requires sports agents to make certain mandatory disclosures to the Secretary of State prior to acting as an agent. According to a lawsuit filed by Callahan & Blaine’s client, International motocross racing team Pro Circuit Racing, Inc., its agent, Crown AMG, misrepresented its status as an authorized sports agent so that it could collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in commissions.
The lawsuit has been filed against Crown Athlete Management Group, Inc. and its husband and wife owners, Scott and Shana Sepkovic, for a refund of nearly a half of a million dollars in commissions that Crown AMG improperly received.
According to the suit, Crown AMG failed to make the mandatory disclosures with respect to Pro Circuit (and likely many other athletes), which renders its sponsorship contract void and unenforceable. The law further requires Crown AMG to refund all of the commissions it received, due to its failure to comply with the disclosure requirements.
The lawsuit seeks to eliminate Crown AMG’s claims that it is owed additional commissions from Pro Circuit on old sponsorship deals, and to recover a refund for the improper commissions Crown AMG already received.
It’s unfortunate the some sports agents think they can get rich by preying on athletes in violation of the law. The sports agent law is in place to protect the athletes in those situations. I anticipate that other athletes who unknowingly paid commissions to Crown AMG and Scott Sepkovic that they were not entitled to receive will likely be seeking their refunds as well.
If you are a Crown AMG client or if your California sports agent has misrepresented his or her status, contact Callahan & Blaine right away.