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Commanders owner Dan Snyder ‘pulled out a $55 MILLION line of credit without minority partners’ approval’… and the league ‘IN’ the issue, with the ‘secret loan from the Washington chief now as the main focus of the federal investigation’
Commanders owner Dan Snyder is under federal investigation for financial misconduct following a $55 million ‘secret’ loan, according to a new report.
Snyder, who is considering selling the franchise, allegedly obtained the credit line without the knowledge and approval of his minority partners, Robert Rothman, Dwight Schar and Frederick W. Smith.
AND according to ESPNneither NFL commissioner Roger Goodell nor an NFL referee investigated the partners’ allegation of financial wrongdoing.
The trio, which owned 40 percent of the franchise, is said to have discovered the loan in the fine print of an April 2020 financial report.
The partners reportedly pressured the league’s arbitrator to seek evidence that the loan was legally obtained, but the NFL ‘closed’ the arbitration proceedings just four days later.
Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder is reportedly under investigation
Obtaining loans and lines of credit without the approval of the Washington board of directors, of which minority partners made up half, is a violation of the team’s shareholder agreement, according to documents obtained by ESPN.
Ultimately, the partner “reluctantly” agreed to the mediation, led by Goodell, which resulted in Snyder paying his partners $875 million for his 40 percent stake.
“This is a type of jail fraud,” an anonymous source told ESPN.
‘The NFL owes them just as much for fair treatment as it owes Snyder. And the league had no interest in finding out what happened. They buried him and did not investigate and covered it up.
Documents obtained by ESPN also show that Bank of America officials repeatedly asked team chiefs for proof that the loan was approved by the board.
But team executives “never provided a copy of the board approval before the loan closed,” before a team attorney acknowledged there was no board approval.
The partners also reportedly discovered that Snyder was using the team as his “personal piggy bank,” including charging the team $4.5 million to put their logo on his private plane, they alleged.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement: “The parties had a number of disputes, which were certified to the Commissioner for arbitration as required by league rules.” The Commissioner appointed a highly respected lawyer as arbitrator and neither party objected to that appointment.’
Snyder is reportedly expecting $7 billion for the franchise, which he has owned since 1999.
The Commanders went 8-8-1 last season as they narrowly missed the NFL playoffs.
‘After several months, the parties were asked if they would be interested in participating in a confidential mediation with the Commissioner, to which they agreed. The mediation lasted two days and the parties subsequently reached an agreement whereby the three limited partners sold all of their interests in the team to Mr. Snyder at an agreed price and other terms.
‘They were all represented by very sophisticated legal and financial advisers. The agreement included full releases of all claims that were or could have been brought by either party in the arbitration proceeding.’
A spokesman for the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia declined to comment to ESPN, while the team has reportedly been fully cooperating with the Eastern District of Virginia.
Snyder announced late last year that he is exploring the possibility of selling the embattled team, following investigations into sexual harassment, hostile workplace and previous fraud allegations.
Snyder reportedly values the team at $7 billion.