ORLANDO, Fla. — What began as a heartbreaking hustle in the youth basketball community may be taking a surprising turn toward redemption.
The man accused of taking hundreds of dollars from youth basketball teams for an alleged fake tournament has come forward with a shocking confession—admitting knowledge about the basketball tournaments and taking responsibility.
“Getting justice at the end, certainly recognizing who this guy is, and getting the guy to admit it. That’s also a victory in itself,” said Antwain Nock, Seminole Slam Youth Basketball Coach.
Saturday, several youth basketball teams, including the Seminole Slam, were duped out of their money, time, and trust by a man now accused of running a tournament that never existed.
Coach Antwain Nock told Channel 9 that multiple teams signed up for the “Spring Fling Orlando” tournament, each paying $175 to register for a youth basketball tournament they believed was being held at Oak Ridge High School, organized by a man named Chris Lawson and booked through a third-party scheduling platform, Exposure Events.
Late Wednesday evening, Lawson admitted to Channel 9 that he knew the tournaments never existed.
“From my understanding, the tournament never happened,” said Lawson.
It also states that the third-party vendor site where the tournaments were listed was an account used by a friend but under his name.
“I gave it to a friend because he has his own basketball team, and he wanted to host the tournament. So, I let him use my account, not knowing what he was doing. So I still have my information as the account holder,” said Lawson.
Earlier this week, Channel 9 saw text messages between Lawson and Nock. The messages show Lawson asking Nock to send the registration money through various third-party apps, including Cash App, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.
Nock said after one phone conversation, Lawson even tried to get him to send money to his wife’s Cash app account when his account got flagged.
Nock said after Cash App blocked Lawson from receiving money from him, his alternative to enter the tournament was through PayPal. He paid for two teams to join, totaling $350.00, for the alleged fake basketball tournament.
While taking responsibility, Lawson said he wasn’t the one who set up the tournaments. He said a friend of his set them up in Florida and North Carolina as well.
“I trusted him like he’s my brother, and I have given him things, including a phone, so he won’t have to struggle. So, all the information he must be using it off of my old phone because I clearly told him to make sure he clears all our information off that old phone. And like I said, trusting him that he will do it, he has proved me wrong. Now I’m in this predicament I’m just trying to make things right,” said Lawson.
Lawson said he has since given back the money to the North Carolina teams, even sharing screenshots of the refunds. However, at last check, he had not yet paid back the Central Florida teams.
“I will be paying these teams back ASAP,” said Lawson.
He said he plans to pay back the Central Florida teams and clear his name.
Nock said since the alleged fake tournaments, the community has been rallying behind the team with support and to keep the word out to watch for future phony tournaments.
“We don’t do this for the money. We do this because we want to give back to the community. Keeping the kids moving forward, keeping the kids supported. That’s what this is all about,” said Nock.
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