Lakers Fan Files Claim Against LeBron James, Accuses Him Of Fraud

“A lot of this case is about [the] principle for me,” Los Angeles Lakers Fan Andrew Garcia told ABC7 Los Angeles. In court documents obtained by the outlet, on October 8th, Garcia filed a claim in small claims court, accusing LeBron James of “fraud, deception, and misrepresentation.” According to Garcia, he spent over $800 on tickets after James announced he’d reveal “the decision of all decisions” in a social media post earlier this week. Similar to many other sports fans, Garcia assumed that James was making a retirement announcement.

However, that was not the case. It turns out the “announcement” James had made was part of a new brand partnership with popular cognac brand Hennessy. The advertisement took inspiration from his controversial decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010 for the Miami Heat. Coincidentally, James’ post came weeks ahead of a highly anticipated game between the Lakers and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The game is currently scheduled for the end of this month, on October 30.

“He should have known this would happen,” Garcia Said

That said, Garcia had sincerely believed that James intended to make a similar farewell tour move like Kobe did in 2015, but that ended up not being the case. “Right away, I thought back to when Kobe Bryant announced his farewell tour about nine or ten years ago, and I saw that as an opportunity that I didn’t want to miss out on,” Garcia told ABC7. “He should know that fans are gonna go spend their hard-earned money thinking that this is something meaningful.”

Garcia added, “For him to do something like that, he should know— or should have known—that this was gonna happen.” Garcia stated he’s only suing to “recover” what he paid for the tickets—which totals to around $865.66—and is not seeking any “emotional relief.” So far, neither LeBron nor one of his representatives has commented on the matter.