Is Billionaire Magic Johnson Involved in Mark Walter’s Financial Mess? Pablo Torre Details

Pablo Torre accused Magic Johnson and Mark Walter of a shady $350 million deal involving LA Dodgers.

Is Billionaire Magic Johnson Involved in Mark Walter’s Financial Mess? Pablo Torre Details

Mark Walter and Magic Johnson (Image credits - Sportsnet)

Magic Johnson is one of the most beloved figures in the NBA world. The Los Angeles Lakers drafted him as the number one pick in the 1979 NBA draft, and he transformed the franchise into what it is today.

With all the success he has had on the court, Johnson has had a very successful life off of it as well. Three years ago, he became the fourth professional athlete in history to reach billionaire status after Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Tiger Woods.

However, it looks like he has found himself in the middle of Pablo Torre‘s next investigation. After playing an instrumental role in exposing the Los Angeles Clippers and Kawhi Leonard’s salary cap circumvention scandal, Torre’s next target is the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Both Mark Walter and Johnson hold ownership stakes in the Dodgers. Walter is the majority owner, while Johnson is a minority owner.

Now, Torre has accused Walter of a shady $350 million deal with Johnson.

EquiTrust, which is this life insurance company, was being sold by Mark Walter to Magic Johnson, his fellow Dodgers co-owner. And it was also loaning $350 million to Mark Walter’s media company. The media company started to pay his and Magic’s Dodgers an average of $334 million a year through this record setting local TV deal that Mark Walter gave to Mark Walter.

Pablo Torre on Pablo Torre Finds Out

Torre was successful in exposing the Clippers through his investigations, and the NBA opened up its own investigation soon after. After concluding its investigation, the ruling saw it impose some strict actions on the franchise and its owner, Steve Ballmer.

But now it looks like his latest investigation has landed Mark Walter and Johnson in hot water. The Dodgers are already in a tough spot with owner Walter being accused of massive fraud. Torre’s allegations suggest that the alleged $350 million transaction with Johnson wasn’t disclosed as an affiliate transaction.

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Mark Walter helped Magic Johnson become a billionaire

After Walter sold EquiTrust to Magic Johnson, the company lent $350 million to Walter’s media company. The money was used to pay the Dodgers through the local TV deal that he essentially struck with himself.

Mark Walter and Magic Johnson
Mark Walter and Magic Johnson (Image credits – CBS Sports)

The transactions and loans caught Torre’s eye. The whole situation piqued his interest as he spoke about it during an episode of “Pablo Torre Finds Out” on Friday.

You’d think, given the scale of this transaction… You’d think that Magic Johnson might celebrate this transaction. The transaction that made him a billionaire, but despite the fact that tweets about almost every single thing in his life, the sale of EquiTrust was not mentioned by Magic Johnson.

Sam Koppelman (Torre’s guest) on Pablo Torre Finds Out

Based on the findings, EquiTrust was sold by Walter to Amistad Financial last year. Amistad was founded and is managed by Eric Holoman. Holoman is Johnson’s right-hand man and longtime business partner.

Johnson is well known for being active on social media. He posts a lot of things related to the NBA and even his personal life. But, he didn’t post anything about the sale of EquiTrust to Amistad, which was a red flag according to Torre.

No KYC was done on Magic Johnson during the sale

There is no doubt that the transaction helped put Johnson over the hump to reach billionaire status. Johnson has tweeted about EquiTrust and Holoman several times in the past. However, he did not post a single tweet regarding the sale.

Torre spoke to one of the compliance attorneys at Walter’s company, Guggenheim Partners. The source stated that they weren’t asked to do KYC on Johnson or the deal for EquiTrust.

They’re trying to help out a friend. [They’re trying to] give him a level of wealth that maybe he didn’t have before. EquiTrust put him on the map of being a billionaire. It was a massive increase for him.

Pablo Torre’s source on Pablo Torre Finds Out

The source speculated that Walter sold EquiTrust to Johnson to repay the five-time NBA champion for assisting him in the Dodgers deal. Johnson helped the Dodgers secure a massive $8.35 billion local TV deal with Time Warner Cable.

It was also revealed that no “Know Your Customer” (KYC) was done on Johnson. Their job was to “clear any kind of contact or transaction,” though they stated that there “probably should have been” a KYC.

Walter bought the Dodgers before selling the Lakers to Josh Kushner and Bob Iger for $12.5 billion. The sale did surprise many as he bought the organization for $10 billion just a year ago. However, he did pocket a profit of $2.5 billion in one year.  

Since Johnson became a billionaire in 2023 largely because of EquiTrust, this certainly warrants an investigation. Meanwhile, federal prosecutors are investigating Walter for about $16 billion in potential financial improprieties and tax fraud.

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