Drew Brees is suing a San Diego based jeweler for allegedly overcharging him for multiple pieces of jewelry.
According to a court filing pulled by The Times-Picayune, the New Orleans Saints quarterback is seeking at least $9 million in damages from Vahid Moradi of CJ Charles Jewelers in San Diego. In the lawsuit, Brees and his wife, Brittany, claim that multiple pieces of jewelry purchased from Moradi were later appraised for $9 million less than what they paid for them.
The filing said the New Orleans Saints quarterback paid jeweler Vahid Moradi roughly $15 million for multiple pieces of jewelry, including a blue diamond ring at a cost of $8.18 million in March 2015, which the filing said an appraiser valued at $3.75 million.
Brees has apparently been a client of Moradi's for years, purchasing expensive watches, earrings and rings from the high-profile jeweler. It wasn't until he consulted an independent appraiser that he reportedly realized he had been swindled.
The lawsuit, which was filed on Monday and first reported on by TMZ Sports, says that Brees believed his purchases would be a long-term investment that would only go up in value.
However, Moradi's lawyer claims that Brees is just trying to bully his client as a result of financial struggles,
"Drew Brees aggressively purchased multi-million dollar pieces of jewelry. Years later, claiming to suffer 'cash flow problems,' he tried to bully my client into undoing the transactions," said Moradi's attorney, Eric M. George.
The 39-year-old Brees has made nearly $200 million in salary over his 17-year NFL career. He recently inked a two-year, $50 million extension with the Saints this offseason that will pay him $27 million guaranteed.
