The ongoing Floyd Mayweather financial saga just got even stranger.
For months, Floyd “Money” Mayweather has been surrounded by an increasingly bizarre pileup of financial headlines. Back in January, we covered a lengthy investigation into Floyd Mayweather’s finances that raised questions about loans, liens, foreclosures, unpaid bills, and asset sales. A month later, Floyd went on offense by filing a $340 million lawsuit against Showtime, claiming a huge portion of his career earnings had been diverted into accounts he did not control. We later paid $19 to download the full complaint and broke down the specific allegations.
Then came the $330,000 unpaid rent lawsuit tied to a $100,000-per-month luxury Manhattan apartment. Then came a reported $7.3 million IRS lien. Then came Floyd’s own $175 million lawsuit against former business associates, involving claims about missing money, Manhattan real estate, a Gulfstream jet, and $100 million in jewelry.
And now, felony charges.
According to Nevada court records obtained by ESPN, Floyd Mayweather is facing two felony charges connected to the alleged purchase of a $200,000 Audemars Piguet watch from a high-end Las Vegas resale boutique called Gold & Beyond.
The charges are:
- Theft, value $100,000 or greater
- Draw or pass check with intent to defraud, value $1,200 or greater
Mayweather was not present for a Clark County court hearing on Monday. He was represented by his attorney, and that appearance apparently satisfied a previous court order requiring Floyd to appear before a judge.
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The Alleged $200,000 Bad Check
According to the criminal complaint, Mayweather allegedly wrote a $200,000 check from a Wells Fargo account to Gold & Beyond on December 31, 2024.
The complaint alleges that when Floyd wrote the check, he “had insufficient money, property, or credit” in the account to pay the full amount.
The watch itself was reportedly purchased on December 25, 2024. ESPN obtained a copy of the receipt for the Audemars Piguet watch.
The theft charge alleges Mayweather wrote the check “in exchange for obtaining property or services” while “knowing that the check would not be paid when presented.” The complaint further alleges that he acted “knowingly, feloniously, and without lawful authority.”
Mayweather’s attorney has not commented publicly on the charges. The Clark County District Attorney’s Office also did not immediately comment to ESPN.
Why The Store Waited To Press The Issue
According to Marc Cook, an attorney for Gold & Beyond, the store initially filed a complaint with the Clark County District Attorney’s Office in February.
Cook told ESPN the reason for the delay was that his client trusted Mayweather and was trying to give him time to make things right.
“The reason for the delay is that my guy trusted Mayweather and was trying to give him every opportunity to make good on that,” Cook said. “And it got to the point where he wasn’t getting responses and wasn’t getting money for a watch that Mayweather had for well over a year.”
That quote is what makes this story especially surreal.
This is Floyd Mayweather, one of the highest-paid athletes of all time, now facing felony charges tied to an allegedly unpaid $200,000 luxury watch. For almost anyone else, $200,000 is a life-changing amount of money. For Floyd Mayweather, it is supposed to be the kind of money he casually stacks on a private jet for Instagram content.
Potential Penalties
Under Nevada law, the bad-check fraud charge could carry a sentence of one to four years in prison, plus a fine of up to $5,000 and restitution costs.
The felony theft charge is more serious on paper. Theft involving property valued at $100,000 or more can carry a prison term of one to 20 years and a fine of up to $15,000.
That does not mean Floyd Mayweather is likely to spend 20 years in prison over a watch. Maximum statutory penalties are not the same thing as likely outcomes, especially in a case involving a first-class defense team, a financial dispute, and potential restitution. But the fact that this has escalated into felony criminal charges is extraordinary.
The Greece Fight Is Still Expected To Happen
Mayweather is scheduled to face kickboxer Mike Zambidis in an exhibition fight on June 27 in Athens, Greece.
According to ESPN, a source close to Mayweather said Floyd still has his passport and is expected to leave for Greece later this week. The source also said there had been a threat at one point that Mayweather’s passport could be revoked because of the IRS lien, but that his tax attorneys have been working with the federal agency and he is expected to travel for the fight and return.
That detail is important because it hints at what may be the larger story behind all of this: liquidity.
Floyd may still own valuable assets. He may still have substantial wealth. He may also recover major sums if his lawsuits succeed. But the pattern of liens, loans, unpaid obligations, lawsuits, and now an alleged bad check suggests that ready cash may be a very real issue.
Putting It All Together
A $200,000 watch dispute, by itself, would be strange enough.
But this is not happening in isolation. It is happening after months of stories that all point in the same general direction: Floyd Mayweather’s financial life appears to be far more complicated than the “Money” persona ever suggested.
Floyd’s own legal position is that he earned more than $1.1 billion, but was allegedly deprived of at least $340 million in fight earnings and later had another $175 million in assets, proceeds, and income streams allegedly siphoned away or disappear. If true, that would help explain why a billionaire-level earner might now be facing tax liens, lawsuits, asset disputes, and liquidity issues.
If false, then the alternative explanation may be even more uncomfortable: that one of the richest athletes in history is experiencing the kind of financial stress that no amount of Instagram cash flexing can hide.
Either way, the story has moved beyond gossip and into courtrooms.
