Mark Walter's stunning sale of the Los Angeles Lakers came on the heels of his business empire facing legal scrutiny.
After selling the Lakers in a record-breaking $12.5 billion deal to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger while reportedly being in talks to sell his stake in Chelsea FC, Bill Simmons speculated that Mark Walter could soon face jail time.
"It's starting to seem like he might actually go to jail," the NBA pundit said on his Bill Simmons Podcast. "He's already shed himself of the Lakers. He's reportedly selling his 12.5% stake in Chelsea right now, and my guess is the Dodgers are going to be next. So what is this? Are we moving toward a Bernie Madoff- or Ivan Boesky-type situation?
"Will the words, 'Mark Walter today pled guilty...' be said in the next two years?"
Mark Walter facing intense legal probe amid stunning Lakers sale, Chelsea stake plans
After becoming the Los Angeles Lakers' owner for just 14 months and inheriting the franchise from the Buss family, Mark Walter left the entire sports world stunned after flipping the Los Angeles Lakers for an instant profit to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger.
The transaction took only 72 hours to be completed, sealing one of the most bizarre and unexpected sports franchise deals in history.
As such, the reported sale coincided with mounting federal regulatory and criminal scrutiny surrounding his financial empire. Walter is facing an intense probe by the FBI and SEC as to whether his insurance companies funneled billions of dollars in undisclosed, high-risk loans to middleman businesses within his own corporate network.
Walter allegedly moved between $20 billion and $21 billion from his insurance companies into other businesses he owns or controls, with the transactions reportedly failing to receive proper disclosure.
The movement of those policyholder funds has drawn the attention of federal prosecutors, who are examining whether Walter intentionally concealed the loans, as he could face criminal loan fraud.
ABS Capital, Amistad Financial, Bradford Allen, and Hudson Trading were identified as the four middleman companies at the center of the investigation around Walter.
With Walter reportedly moving on from his Chelsea stake and might finally consider the LA Dodgers next, another groundbreaking franchise transaction could soon truly follow the Lakers' historic deal.