Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. is facing a fraud lawsuit in Miami, where he is accused of running a “cash-for-access” scheme involving his reported friend, Elon Musk. According to court papers filed by tequila tycoon Jayson Winer, Mayweather claimed he could arrange private online meetings with the tech billionaire for a fee.
Winer, who operates as the digital artist “Mr. Black,” alleges that Mayweather initially offered to set up a meeting with Musk for $4 million. Winer declined the offer but claims a new deal was made: he would pay $1 million for a text exchange between Mayweather and Musk. He claims Mayweather sent him a fraudulent screenshot as “proof” that the message was sent, but the contact never happened.
A second alleged deal was then arranged for a video call with Musk in exchange for two of Winer’s designer watches, valued at over $160,000, and an additional $20,000 in cash. Winer says a person claiming to be Mayweather’s security guard came to his home to collect the items, but again, no video call ever took place.
Winer claims Mayweather and his business partner, Jona Rechnitz, preyed on his desperation after his X account was allegedly “shadow banned,” hindering his ability to sell 21,000 digital art pieces. Winer’s lawsuit is seeking a jury trial.
Mayweather reportedly grew close to Musk after training him for a potential “cage match” with Mark Zuckerberg. The boxer, who has described Musk as “my guy,” also endorsed Donald Trump in the 2024 Presidential race, to Musk’s delight. There is no suggestion that Musk was aware of any of Mayweather’s promises.