Floyd “Money” Mayweather has a new problem — and this one involves a courtroom, not a boxing ring.
The boxing legend is now facing two felony charges in Nevada, connected to what prosecutors say was a bad check he wrote to buy a $200,000 luxury watch. The charges come on top of a growing list of financial troubles that have surrounded Mayweather for months.
A $200,000 Watch and an Allegedly Empty Account
According to the criminal complaint, Mayweather wrote a $200,000 check from a Wells Fargo account to a high-end Las Vegas resale shop called Gold & Beyond on December 31, 2024. The watch — an Audemars Piguet — had reportedly been purchased six days earlier, on Christmas Day.
The problem? Prosecutors allege the account didn’t have enough money to cover the check.
The two felony charges Mayweather is facing are:
- Theft involving property valued at $100,000 or more
- Writing or passing a check with intent to defraud (value $1,200 or more)
The complaint alleges Mayweather wrote the check “knowingly, feloniously, and without lawful authority” — meaning prosecutors believe he knew the money wasn’t there when he signed it.
Mayweather’s attorney has not made any public statement about the charges, and the Clark County District Attorney’s Office has also stayed quiet so far.
Why the Store Waited Over a Year
Here’s where the story gets even more interesting.
Gold & Beyond didn’t rush to press charges. According to Marc Cook, the store’s attorney, his client initially filed a complaint with the Clark County District Attorney’s Office back in February — but only after months of trying to resolve things quietly.
“My guy trusted Mayweather and was trying to give him every opportunity to make good on that,” Cook told ESPN. “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.”
In other words, the store gave Mayweather more than a year to simply pay for the watch — and still got nothing.
What Could Actually Happen to Mayweather?
Let’s break down the legal stakes in plain terms.
The bad check charge carries a potential sentence of one to four years in prison, plus a fine of up to $5,000 and possible restitution.
The felony theft charge is more serious on paper. Theft of property worth $100,000 or more in Nevada can bring one to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.
That doesn’t mean Mayweather is headed to prison for two decades. Maximum penalties rarely reflect real-world outcomes, especially in financial disputes involving top-tier defense attorneys and the possibility of restitution. But the fact that this has reached the level of felony criminal charges is remarkable on its own.
The “Money” Man and a Liquidity Problem?
This is the part that makes everyone do a double take.
Floyd Mayweather is one of the highest-earning athletes in sports history. He’s the guy who used to post photos on private jets surrounded by stacks of cash. The nickname “Money” wasn’t subtle. For most people, $200,000 is a life-changing sum. For Mayweather, it was supposed to be pocket change.
And yet, here we are.
This situation doesn’t exist in a vacuum either. Over the past several months, a troubling financial picture has been forming around Mayweather:
- A $7.3 million IRS tax lien
- A $330,000 unpaid rent lawsuit tied to a $100,000-per-month Manhattan apartment
- A $340 million lawsuit against Showtime, claiming his career earnings were diverted without his control
- A $175 million lawsuit against former business partners over missing money, a Gulfstream jet, and over $100 million in jewelry
Mayweather’s legal team claims he earned more than $1.1 billion in his career but was allegedly robbed of hundreds of millions through fraudulent schemes. If that’s true, it would explain a lot. If it’s not, the alternative picture is far more uncomfortable — that one of the wealthiest athletes of all time may be dealing with a serious cash flow problem.
His Greece Fight Is Still On
Despite all of this, Mayweather is still set to fight. He’s scheduled to face kickboxer Mike Zambidis in an exhibition bout on June 27 in Athens, Greece.
A source close to Mayweather told ESPN that Floyd still has his passport and is expected to travel to Greece later this week. There were earlier concerns that his passport could be revoked due to the IRS lien, but his tax attorneys have reportedly been working with federal officials to clear the way for international travel.
The Bigger Picture
What started as gossip about a boxing legend’s finances has now officially moved into courtrooms.
A $200,000 bounced check would be a strange story for anyone. For the man who built an entire brand around being the richest fighter on the planet, it’s something else entirely. Whether Mayweather is the victim of a massive financial conspiracy — as his lawsuits claim — or whether the cracks in the “Money” empire run deeper than anyone knew, one thing is clear: the story is far from over.
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